Kristaps Porzingis has had rumors swirl about him wanting to leave the Knicks, but his brother put fans in New York at ease about their star center.
Kristaps Porzingis and the New York Knicks have had a rough few months together, and many believed that Porzingis would be on his way out from the team soon.
However, even after all the drama, his brother Janis told ESPN’s Ian Begley in an interview that the Knicks star wants to stay with the team, and admitted that he would pursue free agency if New York traded him this season.
“Kris wants to stay in New York, he feels at home there,” Janis Porzingis said. “There is no question about it. The only thing he wants is for the Knicks to create an environment where he can develop and grow as a player and win.”
Porzingis has had moments where he made waves in New York news about his desire to potentially play elsewhere, starting with his no-show at the Knicks exit interviews after the regular season ended. He added fuel to the fire last week, when he tweeted out his love for the Los Angeles Clippers as the team played in the NBA Playoffs. The tweet came out amidst rumors that the Knicks were fielding offers for their center. He has since stated that he was hacked on the Clippers tweet.
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The drama mainly started because of the team’s dysfunction surrounding star forward Carmelo Anthony, and the team’s inability to figure out what to do with him. Porzingis was noticeably frustrated with the situation, and skipped the exit meetings because of it.
Porzingis is entering the third season on a four-year deal, so his only way out of New York if he wanted it would be through a trade. Whether or not what his brother said is true or not, Porzingis will have the opportunity to pursue another team after two more seasons. Until then, the young center is stuck with the Knicks, who have lost 101 games since they drafted the Latvian star.