It’s not you, Phil. It’s Jeff.
Or so it seems according to a new report by Peter Vecsey of Patreon.com via Ryan Phillips of the Big Lead.
We are of course referring to that time when New York Knicks big man and unicorn Kristaps Porzingis decided to ditch an exit meeting with the team at the conclusion of the 2016-17 season. Following the incident, fans and media were quick to point out that the reason behind Porzingis’ no-show was his acerbic relationship with then team president of basketball operations, Phil Jackson.
But as reported by Vecsey, it was head coach Jeff Hornacek and the manner he treated the 7-foot-3 specimen last season which drove Porzingis into skipping the exit interview.
According to a report by Peter Vecsey, Hornacek rode Porzingis hard last season and their feud culminated in explosive fashion. Willy Hernangomez is Porzingis’ best friend on the team, and at one point, Hornacek reportedly cornered the Spanish big man and told him to tell Porzingis to stop “stop playing like a pu**y.” That led Porzingis to skip out on his exit interview and basically shut down any relationship with his head coach.
Getting referred to as a female’s reproductive organ has an unpleasant connotation regardless of which culture someone is from, but based on how Porzingis performed last season, it appears as though Hornacek’s alleged harsh handling of the Latvian did the Knicks well on the court, as Porzingis improved on his rookie numbers, posting 18.1 points per game on 45 percent shooting clip. He also recorded 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per contest.
Off the court, that could be a different issue moving forward, as the relationship between a budding star and his head coach is always an important aspect of team growth.
Not to justify anything, but we wonder whether Hornacek calling Porzingis a “p—y” was the impetus behind Porzingis’ attempt this offseason to bulk up.
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