Kristaps Porzingis sent a message to the New York Knicks by ghosting his exit interview with team president Phil Jackson: This crap fest you call a culture is unacceptable.
Was that message received? It’s hard to tell. If it was, it hasn’t angered the Knicks—as least not to the point they’ve fined or disciplined young Kristaps, per the New York Post‘s Marc Berman:
When Jackson was asked at the draft combine if Porzingis will face any disciplinary action for missing the exit meeting without notification, he was unclear.
“I won’t talk about it,’’ Jackson said. “That’ll come out when it does.”
According to the players association, no fine has been levied yet by the Knicks.
Cool. There’s been no fine. So the Knicks have just trashed Carmelo Anthony’s trade value and parted ways with Kristaps’ favorite assistant coach, Josh Longstaff, then?
Though Longstaff’s departure could be perceived as retaliation for Porzingis’ silent protest, Berman said the decision to let him go was made before Kristaps-Gate. So perhaps his actions are in response to Longstaff’s exit. Or maybe he’s just fed up with playing for a truly incompetent, wholly stubborn franchise that never seems to learn from its mistakes?
Can it be a little bit of both? Let’s say it’s a little bit of both. Porzingis is the last hope the Knicks have. We have to assume he’s smart enough to make these decisions based off more than one organization-wide folly.
Because if you cannot trust the 21-year-old to be the adult in this situation, who can you trust?
