Dwyer picked Porzingis.
With the draft and the bulk of free agency now behind us, it's time to start taking stock of what's transpired this summer and how it all figures to impact the upcoming NBA campaign.This week, we discuss: Which 2015 rookie landed in the best spot?
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Kelly Dwyer: Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks. This isn’t a joke, and we’re not trolling. Speaking as someone who is so old that his work covering the NBA on the internet predates the word “trolling.”
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.Can Porzingis cut through the Knicks' dysfunction to find his perfect fit? (Nick Laham/Getty Images)
Can Porzingis cut through the Knicks' dysfunction to find his perfect fit? (Nick Laham/Getty Images)
Porzingis played on a middling Spanish League team last season. He turned 20 but a week ago, and he has yet to significantly develop what the New York Knicks will be his finest two attributes – versatile low post scoring, and supreme outside shooting. He will be burdened with the pressure of acting as New York’s first top-five lottery pick in nearly three decades during his rookie campaign, the Knicks won’t even have a lottery pick next year should they fall flat on their face in 2015-16. It’s also quite possible that Porzingis plays the same position as New York’s best player: Carmelo Anthony, you’ll recall, does his best work as a power forward that can shoot real well.
Toss in a rather festive media atmosphere and the massive target on his back that will follow him as veteran bigs look to throw off the scent with new blood, and you have what could be a less-than welcoming atmosphere. Even his own personnel boss, the mercurial Phil Jackson, weirdly mused aloud as to whether or not his Kristaps was “too tall” for his own good.
The hack storyline seems in place, right? Another wispy one for New York City to chew up and spit out.
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The thing that can get in the way of things playing out to script is Porzingis’ compelling brand of temerity, with the skills (and, yes Phil, size) to match.
The New York Knicks, infamously at this point, run the triple-post or “triangle” offense. Well, they ran it sometimes, at least, because squads in Golden State and Atlanta often seemed to run more triangle-based sets per game that Derek Fisher’s Knicks did during Fisher’s first year as coach. Whatever you want to blame this on – lack of patience, a crummy roster, the triangle’s possible outmoded status in the wake of the zone defense rule changes and increased three-point attention – go nuts.
What is certain, on paper at this point, is that Porzingis is perfect for that offense. The trick here is getting these Knicks to be a part of “that offense,” rather than just giving up on endless watered-down triangle sets as we saw in 2014-15. His aggressive nature and blend of touch and timing would fit right into a studied triangle-based squad filled with versatile players that moved with alacrity.
Do the Knicks have those?
Point guard Jose Calderon is a coach’s dream, gathering assists while rarely turning it over, but he is a ball-dominator and a surprise acquisition considering Phil Jackson’s longtime penchant for guards that play nothing like Jose Calderon. Arron Afflalo is a pro’s pro, but he can also stop an offense should he decide that it’s time to halt everything and post up. New addition Robin Lopez will fit, but it’s also worth wondering if 12 years’ worth of iffy NBA habits may have dug too deep a hole for Carmelo Anthony to shoot his way out of.
If the glass is half full, however, Kristaps Porzingis could have it made in this offense. There are too many caveats to even consider at this point, and he won’t come close to the Rookie of the Year in 2015-16, but this doesn’t mean this shouldn’t be a perfect fit, should all the angles align.
9/2/2015 6:51 AM