There will be nothing more painful for a Knicks fan regarding the Orlando restart than watching the Dallas Mavericks compete.
The Mavericks resurgents, who were 40-27 when the season was halted in March due to the coronavirus, will feature the 7-foot-3-inch Kristaps Porzingis, and even a rejuvenated Tim Hardaway Jr.
Knicks resident Leon Rose and executive vice president William Wesley are now in charge of the Knicks and in their place to prevent what happened to Porzingis, who requested a franchise exchange 17 months ago.
It’s hard to imagine Wesley having allowed Porzingis and his agent / brother Janis to become so miserable that they wanted to leave New York City. It’s hard to imagine that Rose and Wesley wouldn’t have made at least one trip to Latvia or Spain to visit the Porzingis brothers in the 2018 offseason once they realized the brothers’ disenchantment with the franchise.
Porzingis has returned to the Mavericks now after having spent most of the coronavirus pandemic in his native Latvia, where the infection rate has been relatively low, according to Johns Hopkins.
Being in Latvia gave Porzingis an advantage to work in gyms that were not closed by the government, as many were closed in the United States. While the Knicks never appreciated Porzingis returning to Europe during the offseason, it was prudent for him to do so during the coronavirus break.
“I knew if we had a chance [to resume the season]I had to be prepared physically, mentally and in all other respects, so I kept myself ready all the time, “Porzingis told reporters in a conference call on Saturday in his first comments since closing.” I feel great physically, Super excited. Mentally, I’m there. I was able to heal the little things I had and I’m very excited to get back on the court. Hopefully everything goes well and we can enjoy some basketball. “
As of Sunday, Latvia had 1,122 positive cases of coronavirus (0.059 percent of the population) and 30 deaths caused by the disease, according to Johns Hopkins.
Porzingis is no stranger to layoffs, having broken a 20-month layoff to rehabilitate his torn ACL in the past two years.
“Now I know what works and what doesn’t work for me,” Porzingis said. “(I’m) trying to find the optimal shape I need to be in to be able to play at the highest level and feel the best I can on the court. The extra time gave us all more time to recover from the little things we all have. “
Porzingis, the Knicks’ fourth overall pick in the 2015 draft, was the original “unicorn,” as Kevin Durant called it. He is a solid 3-point shooter, who will only develop an internal game. He is also a robust shot blocker and is only 24 years old.
The Knicks failed to convert the cap space they opened by swapping Porzingis and Hardaway with another All-Star, while acquired point guard Dennis Smith Jr. has been a disappointment thus far. These failures likely played a role in Steve Mills’ firing as president in February.
The best part of the ride was the two future first-round players the Knicks received from Dallas, both of which can be used by Rose in an exchange for a standout like Porzingis.
Porzingis showed flashes of stardom this season. When Luka Doncic sprained his ankle during the winter, Porzingis’s numbers increased. In 12 games from January 31 to March 4, Porzingis averaged 27.8 points, 11 rebounds and 2.3 blocks, shooting 50 percent. Doncic was out half of that section.
Mavs broadcaster and former Knick Derek Harper told The Post during the pandemic that Dallas will win at least one title with Doncic and Porzingis together. Porzingis averaged 19.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks this season, which will resume later this month in Orlando, Florida, without the Knicks.
“We don’t want to try to go too far,” said Porzingis. “But I think all of our mentalities are that we are a dangerous team, and I think we can surprise people.”
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