Kristaps Porzingis’ time in New York came to an end prior to the 2019 trade deadline, when the Knicks opted to move the Latvian big man to the Dallas Mavericks. It was a bit of a messy breakup, one that came on the heels of Porzingis expressing concerns about the direction of the franchise amid New York’s insistence on holding him out all year while he rehabbed following knee surgery and looking to the future, whether it be the 2019 NBA Draft or free agency.
Considering that Porzingis appeared to be the centerpiece of the franchise, the fact that things fell apart the way they did was a bit stunning. There were plenty of Knicks fans who were disappointed that Porzingis got moved, but you don’t need to count Action Bronson among them.
Bronson appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on ESPN+, and eventually, the conversation turned to their beloved Knicks. Based on anecdotal evidence involving, uh, we’ll call it a transaction between Porzingis and one of his friends and the eye test, Bronsoliño knew that things were just destined to not work out.
“Nah, I wasn’t, I knew,” Bronson said about being, as Helwani put it, the KP bandwagon. “Just, you could tell with certain guys, just don’t have it in ‘em. He didn’t have New York in him, man. I knew somebody that sold this brother weed, and from what I heard, he didn’t have it in ‘em.”
He went onto say that he was able to tell he wasn’t cut out for New York based on things like Porzingis’ haircut and “the texture of the skin on his face.” As for the return that the Knicks got for Porzingis, one that was solid but not exactly overwhelming, Bronson was fine with it, because he is at the point where he’s looking forward to brighter days in Manhattan.
“I’ve learned to embrace … the Knicks will be bad,” Bronson said. “It’s unfortunate, but I’m waiting to just explode with joy. You can’t have pleasure without so much pain. And when they are finally amazing, and they’re good, oh man, will I feel so good, finally.”
