The New York Knicks are a few days away from an awkward press conference where at least one current member of the team clearly doesn’t want to be there. But Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek claims that the only person with any weird drama to work out will be Carmelo Anthony.
Hornacek spoke to with the New York Daily News on Friday and claimed that there’s no beef between himself and Kristaps Porzingis, the Latvian player primed to be the centerpiece of the franchise for the foreseeable future as long as the Knicks don’t somehow push him away altogether.
Porzingis has kept his distance from the franchise since the season ended, skipping his exit interview with Phil Jackson in apparent protest of Anthony’s treatment by the franchise. But when Jackson’s made his exit from New York, rumors swirled that the real reason Porzingis stayed away was a rift with Hornacek for calling the 24-year-old a p*ssy by proxy.
Hornacek, however, said that’s far from the case. He wouldn’t address the rumor directly, but said he’s been in contact with Porzingis and doesn’t think there’s any trouble between the two.
“KP and I have a good relationship,’’ Hornacek said. “I’m not going to comment on any reports that say otherwise. We texted with him all summer. We followed him through EuroBasket. We’re very happy with his conditioning, the way he played out there, the way he took on the role of leader for that Latvian team. I think he’s excited to get back. We’re excited to get back at it.”
New Knicks president Steve Mills was also asked about Porzingis and why he hasn’t been around, but he made it clear he’s not concerned about the shenanigans — shenanigans I tell you — that befell the franchise before he took over as GM.
“We don’t focus or look back on what happened and the reasons behind it – all we can do is look forward,” Mills said. “I’ve spoken to him when we made the changes and he’s very excited about where we’re going as I outlined how I saw this team moving forward.”
Mills said his and GM Scott Perry’s job is to “make him feel good about being a Knick and make him feel good about the environment here.” That’s a big ask for sure, but letting Anthony move on would likely be a big step forward for everyone involved. It seems that they’re not as worried about Porzingis wanting out as some may have been earlier in the summer, when trade rumors were swirling about both Melo and Porzingis every day.
If this summer’s biggest win ends up being they don’t lose Porzingis, that’s not too bad considering how the postseason started off.
