With Carmelo Anthony in Oklahoma City and Phil Jackson out of town, General Manager Scott Perry and the New York Knicks can look to the future. That future depends on building a team around franchise player, Kristaps Porzingis.
The 4th overall pick in the 2015 draft, Porzingis has lived up to his selection and then some. Last season, he averaged 18 points and seven rebounds per game.
The team drafted talented prospect Frank Ntilikina in the first last July. The pick looks to add stability at the point guard position for the Knicks.
The organization would like nothing more than to return to the days competing for a championship. Perry knows that with a little bit of patience, they will build a contender to play in the legendary Madison Square Garden.
Following from Ian Begley of ESPN:
Scott Perry talked to MSG’s Alan Hahn at the Knicks’ open practice. He said he doesn’t have a timeline for when he hopes to turn the Knicks into a contending but added he wants NYK to be “very aggressive in trying to make this team as competitive as possible as quick as we can. But we want to do it the right way.”
The Knicks traded Carmelo Anthony to the Oklahoma City Thunder in return for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, and a 2nd round (Chicago) draft pick. The move left Porzingis as the franchise’s leader — a role that he has said he wouldn’t shy away from.
In regards to the talented Porzingis leading the team, Perry also says that he would “never want to put that much pressure on one individual.”
Perry and the front office were able to bring back some solid pieces in the Anthony trade. Both Kanter and McDermott add value to the team.
Porzingis should benefit from the added shooting that McDermott brings. The former Chicago Bull is a career 39 percent three-point shooter over the course of his three NBA seasons. Kanter, 24, is an offensively gifted big with the upside to improve on that end and defensively.
Knicks fans can rest easy knowing that the front wants to take a systematic approach to improving the roster going forward.
