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Report: Kristaps Porzingis may miss Summer League with New York Knicks

By Cody Williams

Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Kristaps Porzingis (SPN) reacts after being selected as the number four overall pick to the New York Knicks in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 25, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Kristaps Porzingis (SPN) reacts after being selected as the number four overall pick to the New York Knicks in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kristaps Porzingis may not get to show his value to Knicks fans at NBA Summer League.

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Kristaps Porzingis was not the most popular man in the Barclay’s Center on the night of the 2015 NBA Draft. The fourth overall selection by the New York Knicks received a chorus of boos punctuated by crying children from the crowd when the pick was announced. They saw a skinny Latvian player and the words bust immediately came to the minds of fans.

Countless scouts will tell you, though, that Porzingis is far from a bust. He has immense skill for a player his size, size and length that also happen to be strengths for the 19-year-old. If he matures, adds bulk, and is developed properly at the NBA level, there’s no reason to believe that Porzingis couldn’t be one of the best players from this draft class.

However, the Knicks fans are going to take more convincing than the opinions of scouts. A quality opportunity to turn the fans in favor of Porzingis would be a strong showing at NBA Summer League, but it appears that might not be an opportunity that Porzingis will get.

According to a report from Ian Begley of ESPN, Porzingis has been experiencing hip tightness over the past few weeks and his status for Summer League is currently up in the air. From Begley’s report:

"Janis Porzingis also said in Monday’s interview that his brother has been dealing with a hip injury that has prohibited him from working out in recent days. Kristaps Porzingis’ workout with the Knicks on June 22 was cut short because of the hip ailment, which Janis described as “tightness.”Janis Porzingis said his brother might have experienced tightness because of the strenuous workouts he had been through to prepare for his workout in Las Vegas on June 12, which was in front of an audience comprising dozens of NBA executives. He projected that his younger brother could be back working out regularly in a few days.The elder Porzingis added, though, that it is unclear whether Kristaps will be available for the beginning of summer league play, which starts July 11."

Granted, this is just word of mouth from Porzingis’ brother, but the fact that there is already an injury concern with the Latvian big man isn’t going to ease the minds of already skeptical Knicks fans.

Summer League would be a great chance for Porzingis to silence some doubters. He wouldn’t have to put forth an out-of-this-world performance, but rather just show flashes of being worth the fourth overall pick. If he doesn’t get that chance, though, it’s only going to be another sour note for what is already perceived as a bad situation by Knicks fans.

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