Kristaps Porzingis is a potential all-star but with the revamped New York Knicks roster, could he struggle to continue to improve as a NBA player.
Kristaps Porzingis was the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and was actually booed after his name was announced as he walked across the stage to shake NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s hand.
Since that day, Porzingis has been nothing short of sensational both on and off the court for the New York Knicks and the NBA.
He averaged 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game in his rookie campaign, which was good enough for him to be the runner-up in the NBA Rookie of the Year race. Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns ended up winning the award a few months back.
Knicks president Phil Jackson took tons of heat from Knicks fans regarding the pick and his lack of the ability to attract a big-time free agent last year. The truth of the matter, however, is that Porzingis was probably that best value pick in the draft, as three other players were taken over him.
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His potential is through the roof. He is 7-foot-3 inches tall with a tremendous 7-foot-6 wingspan that is a video game-like in appearance. As far as his game is concerned, he has a very rare skill set that includes a deceptively quick handle which he uses to blow by other big men.
He can also shoot the NBA three with relative ease, creating for a nearly un-solveable mismatch for the defense.
He has a beautiful, European-developed stroke that could be compared to that of Dirk Nowitzki’s Hall of Fame shot. His offensive skill level is nearly unrivaled.
On the defensive end, his length has already made him into one of the top, active shot-blockers. Last year, he finished 8th among all players in blocks per game with 1.9. As he grows and develops, his block total should rise, making his value on the defensive end even greater.
Under all this pressure, Jackson finally started to make some big moves in free agency, signing Courtney Lee, Brandon Jennings, Joakim Noah and trading for former MVP point guard Derrick Rose.
Here’s the Knicks new-look starting lineup:
Porzingis is a talent that should be in a position that he can be one of the main options and not see much, if any, repercussion for him failing to be a star right away. He needs to be in an environment that utilizes him as one of the top scoring options for his team.
With New York, he was in the perfect spot for his NBA development because other than Carmelo Anthony, he was really the only other scorer with much promise. Now, with all these moves, he will be struggling to find near as many shots as he did before.
Rose is a ball-dominant point guard who loves to shoot the ball. Noah is a center that doesn’t shoot much, but likes to have the ball and create for others, which will take away touches from Porzingis. Lee and Jennings are both upgrades to the Knicks roster, but won’t take too much away from Porzingis’ game.
On this team, he will be asked to play more stout defense, pass more, and take a firm seat in third behind Rose and Melo in terms of leading the team in scoring and shots. This could be a bad thing for Porzingis because he is just 20 years old and his game is still being perfected by the New York Knicks’ coaching staff and himself.
Putting him in this situation could ruin or limit his window of growth.
Some may say that him being with better players is good for him, but in his unique situation, he could be the guy as soon as next year and taking minutes and shots away is not the way to improve his confidence on the offensive end.
must read: NBA Power Rankings: Post Draft And Free Agency Edition
I believe Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks are headed in the right direction with adding new and better talent, but adding a guy like Derrick Rose is not the right move when you consider the future of the franchise, which at this moment is Kristaps Porzingis.