New York Knicks NBA Trade and Roster Rumors: Kristaps Porziņģis Says He Still Loves New York Despite the Frustrations
Knicks fans can rest easy now.
Things got a little uncomfortable last week when Kristaps Porziņģis decided to skip the exit meetings with Knicks management because he was reportedly frustrated with the organization's lack of direction and dysfunction. But a few days after the incident, Porziņģis told the New York Post that he loves New York and he wasn't thinking of leaving the Knicks.
So, why did he blow off the meeting with Knicks president Phil Jackson? Well, he refuses to comment on that. "It's not the right moment to comment on anything [about it]. I don't want to say anything,'' Porziņģis stated during the interview.
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Look, Jackson has made a number of questionable moves since he became the team president, but Porziņģis should have shown up at the meeting even if he doesn't see eye-to-eye with him.
"It wasn't right. But Phil went through this with Kobe [Bryant] and Andrew [Bynum], when they were still young but started to sprout their opinions and rebelled. It worked for Kobe. Hopefully this will make Kristaps better in the long run," a person close to Jackson told the New York Post.
Porziņģis left for Latvia on Thursday and he probably won't take part in the triangle training sessions this summer since he wants to play for the Latvian national team at EuroBasket 2017.
The Knicks would have liked to see him hit the weight room instead of joining the national team and risk getting injured, but they couldn't force Porziņģis to sit if the Latvian really wants to play.
In a press conference last Friday, Jackson pointed out that nobody on the roster was untouchable.
"Everything has got to be possible, and we have to make sure that if people have something to say, we listen to it. We examine it," he stated during the interview, via the New York Times.
But will the Knicks really consider trading the franchise's future star?
