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There was no shortage of drama surrounding the New York Knicks over the offseason that even included forward Kristaps Porzingis being tossed around in trade rumors for a brief period.
According to Ian Begley of ESPN, Porzingis stated that he blocked out all the chatter during his time with Latvia during the EuroBasket tournament.
Kristaps Porzingis said he blocked out Knicks trade rumors in late June while in home country of Latvia. Then president Phil Jackson and the Knicks talked to teams about trades involving Porzingis leading up to the NBA Draft, after he skipped his exit meeting in April over frustration with the team. “I tried to not really listen to it. I tried to not focus on it. That can only disturb your work at that moment. I was just trying to focus on the work. That's something that's not in my hands at that point anymore. I can't affect it.” Porzinigis added that his brother Janis, who is also his agent, helped keep his focus on basketball during the trade rumors. “He's the one informing about the stuff that's going on or maybe keeping the information away from me so I don't think about it too much. It's more in their (Janis and Kristaps' brother Martins') hands. They want me to focus 100 percent on what I'm doing at that moment. That was the mentality back home. I wasn't worried about it too much.”
Much of this talk peaked just prior to the 2017 NBA Draft back in July with him being mentioned as the primary asset to acquire a top-10 draft pick from the Boston Celtics, but nothing truly came about. Following that, things quickly dissipated on that front after team president Phil Jackson was let go.
The Knicks has since reversed course by making him the centerpiece of the team's future, which was heightened to a greater degree after Carmelo Anthony was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder last weekend.
Through his first two seasons in the league, Porzingis has emerged as one of the NBA's rising stars as a versatile big man that can greatly impact the game on both ends of the floor. The 22-year-old could be entering a breakout year where he could make significant strides toward becoming a franchise cornerstone player.
