Despite parting ways with Carmelo Anthony in the offseason, the New York Knicks remain in a weird sort of limbo between building toward the future and trying desperately to keep their new franchise cornerstone placated. One look at their current roster reveals an organization having difficulty juggling these two realities.
With the trade deadline fast approaching, it’s ostensibly an opportunity for the franchise to start their rebuild in earnest as they have some veteran players that could be attractive for contenders looking to bolster their rotation. The only problem is that superstar center Kristaps Porzingis isn’t ready to just write the rest of this season off. In fact, he’d like the Knicks’ front office to add some pieces before the deadline to help make a playoff push.
It’s the sort of thing that, objectively speaking, seems counterproductive to their long-term goals, but try telling that to a hyper-competitive 22-year-old who already feels like his first two NBA seasons were a wash. When asked by reporters if he hopes the Knicks are buyers at the deadline rather than sellers and will look to bring in some help to make a playoff run, he responded with “of course.”
Porzingis then elaborated on his playoff dreams, and why he thinks that’s an important next step to take soon, via Steve Popper of NorthJersey.com.
“Playoff experience for myself, individually, would be huge at this point in my career – the sooner the better,” Porzingis said. “And for most of the guys. Most of the guys haven’t felt that playoff experience that everybody talks about, that the guys talk about that have been there. So for myself, selfishly I would want to play in the playoffs. But we’ll see what happens and how we can end the season.”
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“…I think they know I want to be in the playoffs and that’s the only thing on my mind,” he said. “I’m not going to go in there and be like, ‘No, we’re tanking.’ There’s no reason to play. That’s the only thing I’m focused on. What I need to do on the court to play better, make my team win.”
The Knicks are currently on the outside looking in of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. With the No. 10 seed in the standings, they’re four full games behind the Sixers for the eighth and final spot, although there’s still a good portion of the season remaining.
For team brass, trying to juggle both goals is historically a losing proposition. The Knicks already have a roster filled with aging and injured veterans, and the prospect of trying to flip those contracts for similar pieces is a tough pill to swallow. A lot can happen between now and the February deadline and New York will be an interesting team to watch as this next week and a half goes by.
