Carmelo Anthony has some advice for Kristaps Porzingis as he slides into his role as the face of the New York Knicks franchise:
Embrace it.
Anthony said other stuff too, per Newsday‘s Al Iannazzone:
Carmelo Anthony tried to groom Kristaps Porzingis the past two years, knowing that he someday would replace him as the Knicks’ franchise player. Now that he has, Anthony called it “a big, big year” for Porzingis and had some advice.
“You’re there. You’re the unicorn. You’ve got to embrace it,” Anthony said. “You’ve got to understand what it’s about, what’s going to happen, whether good or bad, and be ready for it.”
Who better to advise Porzingis on how to survive life without Melo than Melo himself?
While Anthony’s words are simple, bordering on boilerplate, he has the right idea. Porzingis has been the Knicks’ best player for a while now, even before Anthony was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. But the 33-year-old All-Star inoculated him against a lot of the scrutiny. He took a lot of the crunch-time shots, and most importantly, his deteriorating relationship with the front office absorbed much of the limelight, freeing Porzingis up, even if only a little bit, to develop outside the strain of New York scrutiny.
That safety net is gone now. It’s in Oklahoma City. The Knicks are Porzingis’ team, and if their loss to the Thunder is any indication, they’re at the very least prepared to feature him above everyone else. It’ll be on him, and now him alone, to deal with the intense magnification incumbent of being The Guy.
