I don't like his ectomorphic body type. I think in combination of being a run/jump athlete with his unusually long and brittle looking limbs--he looks primed to be an athlete who will deal with injury problems.(In Major League baseball scouts tend to keep away from pitchers with normal height and slight builds in fear of them hurting themselves--apologies to Ron Guidry) So you're a team who is willing to take a pick that will result in a player who you KNOW doubt will have to A. Wait on for 2-3 years and B. Take a player who is a walking injury risk

Im sorry to Fran Fischilla or anyone else out there who likes Porzinighis. On first look you are somewhat taken by his incredible combination of length and athleticism--its a rare bird and he can shoot. BUT he will shy away from NBA contact for the foreseeable future--he doesnt have the nuances of the game down like a Kaminsky--and he could probably give Kaminsky a helluva 1-1 battle--but basketball is 5-5 and its physical and whether right or wrong--I say steer clear of this guy too many what if's. He cannot handle the ball he has a tweener awkwardness--he's an opportunistic secondary player in Europe. No fans will get this pick and it has ridicule written all over it. Steer clear.

BRIGGS wrote:Ill say this again about Porzinigs

I don't like his ectomorphic body type. I think in combination of being a run/jump athlete with his unusually long and brittle looking limbs--he looks primed to be an athlete who will deal with injury problems.(In Major League baseball scouts tend to keep away from pitchers with normal height and slight builds in fear of them hurting themselves--apologies to Ron Guidry) So you're a team who is willing to take a pick that will result in a player who you KNOW doubt will have to A. Wait on for 2-3 years and B. Take a player who is a walking injury risk

Im sorry to Fran Fischilla or anyone else out there who likes Porzinighis. On first look you are somewhat taken by his incredible combination of length and athleticism--its a rare bird and he can shoot. BUT he will shy away from NBA contact for the foreseeable future--he doesnt have the nuances of the game down like a Kaminsky--and he could probably give Kaminsky a helluva 1-1 battle--but basketball is 5-5 and its physical and whether right or wrong--I say steer clear of this guy too many what if's. He cannot handle the ball he has a tweener awkwardness--he's an opportunistic secondary player in Europe. No fans will get this pick and it has ridicule written all over it. Steer clear.

Wonder if he looked a lot like Porzingis when he came up as a freshman, though? I know he didn't have the same ability when he came up as a freshman that Porzingis is showing against superior European competition.

Not sure about Porzingis' injury potential or history, but he does look thin, although he's gained some bulk since 2 years ago. A lot of guys getting injuries these days, Briggs- many are superior athletes who test the limits a body can endure given the laws of physics. Have not heard any stories about tendonitis being an issue, which is something you would expect giving his length and youth.

Leverage and center of gravity can also negate pure strength, especially if the athlete knows how to gain position. In the sports I played in during HS and college my competitive strength was always greater than the actual numbers I could put up when weight lifting- and this had to do with balance, position, and leverage.

If you watch Porzingis he's not afraid to battle in the post, and he shows a decent center of gravity when positioning himself. He is not a bad ball handler, either, but I'm not sure you want a big man doing too much ball handling, anyway. There are videos of him at 16 or 17 taking it to the basket off his dribble. The other thing that just might make him special is his ability to defend at multiple positions. Maybe he ends up being a WCS type defender with offensive ability, for all we know.

Keep an open mind. Who knows what will come out when these guys are worked out- many might change their minds, including myself.

WaltLongmire wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:Ill say this again about Porzinigs

I don't like his ectomorphic body type. I think in combination of being a run/jump athlete with his unusually long and brittle looking limbs--he looks primed to be an athlete who will deal with injury problems.(In Major League baseball scouts tend to keep away from pitchers with normal height and slight builds in fear of them hurting themselves--apologies to Ron Guidry) So you're a team who is willing to take a pick that will result in a player who you KNOW doubt will have to A. Wait on for 2-3 years and B. Take a player who is a walking injury risk

Im sorry to Fran Fischilla or anyone else out there who likes Porzinighis. On first look you are somewhat taken by his incredible combination of length and athleticism--its a rare bird and he can shoot. BUT he will shy away from NBA contact for the foreseeable future--he doesnt have the nuances of the game down like a Kaminsky--and he could probably give Kaminsky a helluva 1-1 battle--but basketball is 5-5 and its physical and whether right or wrong--I say steer clear of this guy too many what if's. He cannot handle the ball he has a tweener awkwardness--he's an opportunistic secondary player in Europe. No fans will get this pick and it has ridicule written all over it. Steer clear.

I'm a fan of Kaminsky, who can do a lot of things. I would have no issue with him at #4 if he showed up well in our workout.

Wonder if he looked a lot like Porzingis when he came up as a freshman, though? I know he didn't have the same ability when he came up as a freeman that Porzingis is showing against superior European competition.

Not sure about Porzingis' injury potential or history, but he does look thin, although he's gained some bulk since 2 years ago. A lot of guys getting injuries these days, Briggs- many are superior athletes who test the limits a body can endure given the laws of physics. Have not heard any stories about tendonitis being an issue, which is something you would expect giving his length and youth.

Leverage and center of gravity can also negate pure strength, especially if the athlete knows how to gain position. In the sports I played in during HS and college my competitive strength was always greater than the actual numbers I could put up when weight lifting- and this had to do with balance, position, and leverage.

If you watch Porzingis he's not afraid to battle in the post, and he shows a decent center of gravity when positioning himself. He is not a bad ball handler, either, but I'm not sure you want a big man doing too much ball handling, anyway. There are videos of him at 16 or 17 taking it to the basket off his dribble. The other thing that just might make him special is his ability to defend at multiple positions. Maybe he ends up being a WCS type defender with offensive ability, for all we know.

Keep an open mind. Who knows what will come out when these guys are worked out- many might change their minds, including myself.

BRIGGS wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:Porzingis needs to gain weight, but so does Kaminsky. I have no idea what position Frank will play, inly that it will take a few years for him to reach it. That's the same scenario where looking at Pporzingis. At least we know Porzingis gets steals and blocks at a high level. I'm not sure Frank will ever come close to developing the defensive tools Porzingis already has. This idea that Porzingis is going to take a few years to develop, but Mudiay or Russell is going to help us immediately is off base. Look at how long it took Steph Curry and John Wall to develop into players capable of leading a contending team. We're talking two to three years, right? There are only two players ready to be immediate contributors to an NBA team and even those guys have weaknesses that need to be addressed. Anyone who thinks we will draft a guy at 4 who will be immediate contributor at the start of next season needs to lower their expectations.

I think Kaminsky at face 4 and 22 years old is about as ready as hes going to get for a rookie. Mudiay is more ready to play then Russell. He could sit behind Schveyd for a year or two.

anrst wrote:what black players do people compare him to?

smackeddog wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:I'm not sure if the Knicks fans have the patience for us to draft a Euro. Gallo and Mozgov aren't enough to blot out the Fredrik Weiss draft from our collective memories.

Or Lampe!

Does Porzingis like popcorn too? Posted about him a few months ago. I liked what I saw from the game clips. Motor wise he reminds me of AK-47.

anrst wrote:what black players do people compare him to?

I can think of a Chinese player Yi Jianlin. If we wnat Porzingis maybe we should call up Yi.

BigDaddyG wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:

anrst wrote:what black players do people compare him to?

I can think of a Chinese player Yi Jianlin. If we wnat Porzingis maybe we should call up Yi.

Porzingis can already shoot at a higher level. Look how skinny this guy was when he came into the league. His body type didn't stop him from performing.

Or how about this guy?

Check out this shot of Garnett:

I'll say it again- if you have the length, some toughness, and an understanding about how to use your body the right way, you can compensate for a lack of bulk muscle and weight lifting strength.

Here is another guy folks might remember-

Not saying that Porzingis will be like any of these guys, but I think Phil will give him a good look, and if he turns out to be the best guy he sees, I would hope that he considers him.

Lets say he does not start this year--but well put him in anyway.

IF we get Monroe??

C-Monroe 6-11

PF Porzingis 7-2

F Antony 6-8

G Free agent or Galloway?

G Shveyd?

Kristaps Porzingis, a smooth-shooting power forward from Latvia, has emerged as a serious threat to break into the top three of the June 25 draft in a potential serious shakeup to the long-held perception the top four spots are set, with some executives at the pre-draft combine here saying Porzingis could go second.

“He could go two,” one general manager said. “He’s that good. Nobody says anything bad about him.”

Said the head of basketball operations for another team: “I think he’s a lock for the top five and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go as high as top three. He’s good. We all like to do our comparables. He’s like Dirk Nowitzki or Pau Gasol….. I’d take him ahead of (Jahlil) Okafor.”

Porzingis is 7’1″, and averaged 10.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots in international play this past season, while knocking down 37.9 percent of his shots from three-point distance.