Janis Porzingis, brother of New York Knicks star forward Kristaps Porzingis, claimed his brother intends to stay in the Big Apple despite how the franchise has treated their players over the years.

“Despite how the Knicks are treating their players, Kris wants to stay in New York,” Janis Porzingis told ESPN's Ian Begley. “He loves the city and he loves the fans and he wants to win with this team. If he's going to be traded, he's going to play out his contact and decide his future on his own.”

The claim comes after a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical that the Knicks had not ruled out potentially trading the 7-foot-3 unicorn, with teams rapidly inquiring about his availability.

Porzingis skipped exit meetings with team president Phil Jackson and general manager Steve Mills in mid-April due to overwhelming frustration with how his teammate Carmelo Anthony was treated throughout the year and even more so during the exit front office interviews, when Jackson openly told the media the star small forward “would be better somewhere else.”

Jackson had also insisted on running a now-defunct triangle system with players who clearly weren't in favor of it nor fit the mold for the system, creating constant discontent between the players and coaching staff, spilling into rancor with the front office.

According to Begley, neither the front office nor coach Jeff Hornacek or his staff has been in touch with Porzingis since he skipped the exit meeting.

The 21-year-old averaged 18.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks through an injury-riddled second NBA season in 2016-17. New York finished with a 31-51 record and have the eighth overall pick in Thursday night's draft.