One night about a week ago I boarded an uptown 3 train at Chambers Street. To my right sat two middle-age men, each accompanied by two boys who appeared to be their sons. One of the boys wore a t-shirt that touted Steph Curry, the all-star point guard for the Golden State Warriors. Another wore Lakers garb. Two wore Knicks jerseys.
About two stops later it occurred to me the six of them likely had come from the Barclays Center, where that evening the NBA staged its annual draft. The first threesome left the train at Penn Station. Their companions at 72nd Street.
After arriving home and consulting Twitter, I realized, at least for the Knicks fans, that the draft had presented something of a referendum on Kristaps Porzingis, a 19-year-old forward whom the Knicks selected as their top pick.
Apparently, the selection of Porzingis proved to be wrenching for some of the Knicks’ faithful, who awaited the draft with a hope that finally, this draft, the first under team president Phil Jackson, would mark the first step in a return to winning. The Knicks finished last season with 17 wins and 65 losses, second-worst in the league and the worst in franchise history.
By wrenching, I mean that some fans who attended the draft booed the selection of Porzingis, despite his standing seven feet one and saying that he wanted to play in New York. ESPN captured one young fan crying as he marked the moment in a selfie.
That’s not to suggest Porzingis doesn’t have game. As a player last season with Cajasol Seville of Spain’s ACB league, Porzingis averaged 10.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and one block in 33 games. He hit 38% of his three-point shots and 54% of his two-point tries. Porzingis averaged 11.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 16 games of the Eurocup, where he won the “Rising Star Trophy.”
Porzingis’ weakness is said to be defense. He weighs about 233 pounds, which, at his height, suggests he might struggle with the physicality of the NBA. It didn’t help that Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks star forward, reportedly dissed the selection of Porzingis. Anthony later reached out to the rookie, whom Anthony said he “can’t wait” to see play.
my dream came true!!! @nyknicks pic.twitter.com/IQ6vlfWy8s
— Kristaps Porzingis (@kporzee) June 26, 2015
The pundits appear to like Porzingis’ game, though questions abound. According to Kevin O’Connor at SB Nation, the Latvian “could end up being the steal of the 2015 NBA Draft” if Porzingis has the work ethic to reach what O’Connor calls his “sky-high potential.”
Writing in the PhillyVoice, Rich Hoffman praised Porzingis’ shooting and athleticism while questioning his defense and ability to pass the ball. “He averaged less than one assist per game in both [Spain and the Eurocup] and reportedly doesn’t look comfortable setting his teammates up,” Hoffman wrote.
Former Nets asst GM @BobbyMarks42 on Knicks' pick of Porzingis: "I liked it a lot… a smart pick now a smart pick for the future."
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) June 28, 2015
“Porzingis is very agile for someone his size,” Rafael Uehara wrote last January on the fan site Upside and Motor, noting that Porzingis can play defense, too. “Energy and length are also how he contributes on the other end… He also clogs passing lanes, picking up steals with regularity.” As for Porzingis’ deficits: dribbles too high (makes him susceptible to having the ball stripped away) and passes poorly while moving (see Hoffman, infra), says Uehara.
Jackson says he’s not worried and compares the Latvian to Paul Gasol, who stands seven feet and played center for Jackson with the Lakers. “[Gasol] was 227 pounds when drafted by Memphis,’’ Jackson told reporters recently. “He said, ‘I was a skinny kid when I came in the NBA, too. It’s not about that. It’s about strength.’”
Of course, the selection matters all the more because of who did the selecting. Jackson won five NBA championships with the Lakers after winning six with the Chicago Bulls. He also won two championships as a player for the Knicks; the first in 1970, followed by another three years later. “I think Phil wanted to make a statement,” a host on ESPN Radio’s afternoon show said Wednesday. “He clearly made it with Kris Porzingis.”
If you had asked me in the 1990s, when Jackson’s Bulls dominated the NBA, whether I could imagine the Zen Master one day taking the top pick in the draft on behalf of the Knicks, I think it would have seemed unthinkable. But there I was, on the 3 train, across from a couple of kids in Knicks jerseys on their way back from Brooklyn where they had witnessed exactly that.