New New York Knicks forward Mario Hezonja was put on blast by a former team executive after a tough 103-101 loss to the Boston Celtics over the weekend. Clarence Gaines Jr., who worked for the Knicks during Phil Jackson's brief time with the team, took to Twitter to call out the Croatian:

Hezonja has always been knocked for his defensive abilities, and Gaines might be right in attributing his lack of defense as the deciding factor of how much playing time he gets.

Hezonja has never fully lived up to the expectations of a lottery pick after being picked fifth overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2015 draft. After a shaky first two seasons, he rebounded with a solid third year, posting averages of 9.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game on 44 percent shooting from the field, all career highs.

Even though this was easily his best season, the Magic had already decided not to pick up Hezonja's fourth-year option, so the Knicks quickly pounced on him.

In the first three games of the season, the move has looked like a mistake.

Hezonja has only played 14 minutes a game and has done little to prove he is deserving of more playing time than that. During the Celtics game, he went a paltry 1-of-5 from the field and looked overmatched by Boston's superior wings.

The player Gaines mentioned in his tweet, second-round pick Damyean Dotson, thoroughly outplayed Hezonja, scoring 10 points and contributing two steals on the defensive end.

Knicks fans have to hope these three games are a fluke and Hezonja can rebound and be a contributor to the rebuilding team.