Jeff Hornacek is certain that New York Knicks star big man Kristaps Porzingis will remain on the team, despite tension inside the organization.
On Thursday, at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, Illinois, New York Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek was confident that Kristaps Porzingis would be a member of the team come next season.
"“There’s no doubt in my mind he’ll be on the roster”"
This comes amid reports from ESPN that the Knicks received multiple calls regarding the 21-year-old big man. However, there is no evidence that these inquiries led to a substantive trade discussion. Porzingis skipped the New York Knicks exit meeting due to frustration with the dysfunction and drama within the organization since his arrival, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley.
Hornacek told reporters Thursday that he texted Porzingis, but has yet to receive a response. Also, the head coach noted that he did not see the exit meeting snub coming.
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In an interview with ESPN, Porzingis’ brother, Janis, agreed with the Knicks head coach that the big man wants to stay in New York. However, he would like a change in the atmosphere toward winning.
Janis Porzingis added that if his brother were to be traded, he would leave as a free agent as a way of possibly trying to deter teams from attempting to acquire the Latvian big man.
The Knicks have been one of the worst teams in the NBA the last two seasons, despite the arrival of Kristaps Porzingis. They have lost 101 games since drafting Porzingis with the 3rd overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Porzingis has yet to speak with the New York Knicks since skipping the aforementioned exit meeting. He returned to Latvia as he plans to represent his home country in the European Championships this offseason.