Porzingis blows off exit meeting

[RunningJumper]

excellent. please make sure to call the michael kay show. hopefully he won't be doing a yankees game at that time. i'd love to hear him go off on one of his little hissy fits lmao.

That would be great.

 

[Kiyaman]

What type of performance will KP have in the upcoming NBA season?

KP looked good over the summer in the Euro games ....
https://youtu.be/0l-niKbyFSI
https://youtu.be/fbofORaM1BE
https://youtu.be/zBCqWV1g3k8
https://youtu.be/c0mIIk6Vlgs
https://support.twitter.com/articles/20175256
https://youtu.be/IM4d2XQptTY

KP played some good euro-games in the offseason .. but will KP finally come into the start of the season "NBA-Ready" by being healthy n prepared to play 4 games in 6 to 7 days by putting up game winning stats each game like he put up in the Euro-games this offseason? Or will KP keep up the inconsistencies he been performing the past two seasons?

My Knicks big-man Willy played a great Euro-Game vs both the Gasol brothers ....
https://youtu.be/HizCntud3s8

 

[tiger0330]

What type of performance will KP have in the upcoming NBA season?

KP looked good over the summer in the Euro games ....
https://youtu.be/0l-niKbyFSI
https://youtu.be/fbofORaM1BE
https://youtu.be/zBCqWV1g3k8
https://youtu.be/c0mIIk6Vlgs
https://support.twitter.com/articles/20175256
https://youtu.be/IM4d2XQptTY

KP played some good euro-games in the offseason .. but will KP finally come into the start of the season "NBA-Ready" by being healthy n prepared to play 4 games in 6 to 7 days by putting up game winning stats each game like he put up in the Euro-games this offseason? Or will KP keep up the inconsistencies he been performing the past two seasons?

My Knicks big-man Willy played a great Euro-Game vs both the Gasol brothers ....
https://youtu.be/HizCntud3s8

Good post Kiya. I think this is thread worthy, maybe you should start a new thread with this post. All our guys seem to be having good tourneys, Kuz, WHG and KP, which probably speaks to the level of competition vs the NBA.

KP more muscular, seems to be able to take contact better from what I've seen. His game hasn't changed much, I haven't seen anything new in his arsenal from the highlights I've seen of him. I said we should expect incremental improvements but he's talking about becoming an AS this season so he's feeling good about all the work he's put in.

 

[Broadway]

Good post Kiya. I think this is thread worthy, maybe you should start a new thread with this post. All our guys seem to be having good tourneys, Kuz, WHG and KP, which probably speaks to the level of competition vs the NBA.

KP more muscular, seems to be able to take contact better from what I've seen. His game hasn't changed much, I haven't seen anything new in his arsenal from the highlights I've seen of him. I said we should expect incremental improvements but he's talking about becoming an AS this season so he's feeling good about all the work he's put in.

Summer productivity has never moved the needle for me, doesn't matter what player it is, what tourney they're playing in nor what leagues they're in with 1 exception and that's SL for the newbies. Don't care about Hoodie Melo, don't care about Harden/Durant/Derozan/CP3/Butler Drew Leaguing, don't care about their open gyms and who was on whose team, don't really care about their improved conditioning...nope, nope, NOPE! Don't get me wrong I love players who are gym rats and who are all about their craft but I never take a player's off-season and project onto a regular season.

For crying out loud I saw video footage of Javele McGee last week shooting 3s in a Warriors workout and he was not missing, like at all...with that being said he's not coming into this season splashing hella 3s into the brotherhood SORRY not happening

But you might be on to something here with starting a thread tracking the development/activity of our younger/new players for this coming season. Especially by comparison of their previous seasons(NBA only) and/or against competition of younger players across the league

 

[tiger0330]

Summer productivity has never moved the needle for me, doesn't matter what player it is, what tourney they're playing in nor what leagues they're in with 1 exception and that's SL for the newbies. Don't care about Hoodie Melo, don't care about Harden/Durant/Derozan/CP3/Butler Drew Leaguing, don't care about their open gyms and who was on whose team, don't really care about their improved conditioning...nope, nope, NOPE! Don't get me wrong I love players who are gym rats and who are all about their craft but I never take a player's off-season and project onto a regular season.

For crying out loud I saw video footage of Javele McGee last week shooting 3s in a Warriors workout and he was not missing, like at all...with that being said he's not coming into this season splashing hella 3s into the brotherhood SORRY not happening

But you might be on to something here with starting a thread tracking the development/activity of our younger/new players for this coming season. Especially by comparison of their previous seasons(NBA only) and/or against competition of younger players across the league

lol Javele has been working on that 3 pt shot since he was on the Wiz. Had to look it up, he's 1-9 over his entire career taking 3s.

KP has kept his word and put in the work this off-season just as Bradley Beale did last season, Beale benefited and I expect Porzingis will also. His game is more physical from what I've seen, you won't see guys like Smart pushing him around this season, I expect that during the season we hear comments from opposing players about how much stronger he is in the post.

 

[Broadway]

lol Javele has been working on that 3 pt shot since he was on the Wiz. Had to look it up, he's 1-9 over his entire career taking 3s.

KP has kept his word and put in the work this off-season just as Bradley Beale did last season, Beale benefited and I expect Porzingis will also. His game is more physical from what I've seen, you won't see guys like Smart pushing him around this season, I expect that during the season we hear comments from opposing players about how much stronger he is in the post.

Oh no doubt he's been putting in work but it still comes down to our style of play and how he'll be used to see the true impact of his off-season. I doubt he'll be posting up much, yeah maybe a little more so than in previous seasons but by and large after guys have been in the league 3-5yrs they should be stronger. Then we have to consider Melo is still on this team. He's not going to change his game much, so unless Melo is parked on the bench and/or traded I don't see I a huge leap from #kporzee other than higher usage rates

 

[Kiyaman]

Summer productivity has never moved the needle for me, doesn't matter what player it is, what tourney they're playing in nor what leagues they're in with 1 exception and that's SL for the newbies. Don't care about Hoodie Melo, don't care about Harden/Durant/Derozan/CP3/Butler Drew Leaguing, don't care about their open gyms and who was on whose team, don't really care about their improved conditioning...nope, nope, NOPE! Don't get me wrong I love players who are gym rats and who are all about their craft but I never take a player's off-season and project onto a regular season.

For crying out loud I saw video footage of Javele McGee last week shooting 3s in a Warriors workout and he was not missing, like at all...with that being said he's not coming into this season splashing hella 3s into the brotherhood SORRY not happening

But you might be on to something here with starting a thread tracking the development/activity of our younger/new players for this coming season. Especially by comparison of their previous seasons(NBA only) and/or against competition of younger players across the league

When certain teams starters work-out n practice together during the offseason those same teams has successful seasons .. especially winning coaches teams that add 1 or 2 new players to their starter lineups.

Our Knicks for the past couple of decades only has their first or 2nd yr players working-out steady at their practice facilities during the offseason .. The Knicks owner/president/ GM/and head coach has not been pressured into having a winning season.

Our Knicks Euro-players KP, Willie, and Kuz are pressured n pushed more by their country n camp to play a winning team-ball for their countries teams way more than the Knicks organization push them .. our players are only pushed to report to team meetings.

A Development Thread on the Knicks players in the offseason as a TEAM would be great .. if we seen some type of same-page chemistry-system on the court from the Knicks team or a Knicks lineup the past 1 or 2 seasons.
The 31 win season Knicks perform to much "Individual-Team-Ball" to have success in a league where the best team performing chemistry-system b.ball wins games.

The offseason the Knicks organization force the majority of their roster to report to the Knicks practice-facility for 2 weeks of each month during the 4 month offseason .. will be when the Knicks will make the playoff plus win a postseason series. Until then .. expect our offseason n seasons to be the same as the past 3 offseasons we had .. this offseason the Knicks organization has made FLOPS from Presidency down to the 15th player we signed for the upcoming season. If we show any signs of team-ball throughout the upcoming season to win close to 41 games .. I will make a player DEVELOPMENT thread next offseason.

Wsup Broadway .. u got to give JaVale McGee more credit .. he situated himself on a successful same-page winning team the same as Durant did. Where their talent n performance are not magnetize by fans n sports writers expectation of being Shaq n the fool or better than Westbrook.
JaVale McGee could now work on expanding his inside game for another Title while practicing shooting 3's to get back on Shaq n the fool.

 

[mafra]

Kristaps Porzingis - F - Knicks

Kristaps Porzingis scored 28 points with seven rebounds, three blocks, two steals and three 3-pointers in a win over Turkey on Thursday.

He is a unicorn on all continents and has looked great for his Latvian national team. Porzingis projects to the the top scorer for the Knicks in a post-Carmelo Anthony era, assuming the trade does go down. In fact, Porzingis was better without Melo last year because his net rating was 5.4 better, his usage rate was 3.3 percent higher, and he had a true shooting percentage 2.8 percent higher compared to his minutes with Melo last year. Three 6 Latvia should be coming off the board in the second round of drafts this season.

(Rotoworld)

 

[tiger0330]

Kristaps Porzingis - F - Knicks

Kristaps Porzingis scored 28 points with seven rebounds, three blocks, two steals and three 3-pointers in a win over Turkey on Thursday.

He is a unicorn on all continents and has looked great for his Latvian national team. Porzingis projects to the the top scorer for the Knicks in a post-Carmelo Anthony era, assuming the trade does go down. In fact, Porzingis was better without Melo last year because his net rating was 5.4 better, his usage rate was 3.3 percent higher, and he had a true shooting percentage 2.8 percent higher compared to his minutes with Melo last year. Three 6 Latvia should be coming off the board in the second round of drafts this season.

(Rotoworld)

I wrote that I thought his game hadn't changed much and the highlights of this game seems to show that. Still likes to play on the perimeter, no post game, most of his scoring dunks and put backs. I'm hoping he's more physical underneath the basket and it helps his rebounding, he's always going to be a shot blocker because of his length but I'd like to see him become a 10RB guy.

 

[mafra]

I wrote that I thought his game hadn't changed much and the highlights of this game seems to show that. Still likes to play on the perimeter, no post game, most of his scoring dunks and put backs. I'm hoping he's more physical underneath the basket and it helps his rebounding, he's always going to be a shot blocker because of his length but I'd like to see him become a 10RB guy.

KD averages about 7-8 rebounds per; Dirk a 6-7 rebound per guy.... These 2 players are the gold standard we hope KP eventually becomes.

Those 2 also prefer the perimeter to the post.

Now, in order for KP to reach their status, and to become a true franchise player, he needs to become a MUCH better post scorer -- especially when teams try to guard him with smaller guys. We hope/expect this comes with strength and experience.

This is year 3 for him.... We should see a big step in the right direction for him.... before I worry about his rebounds and post game.... I want to see consistency and dependability. Be good every night..... play over 70
Games.

 

[Kiyaman]

KD averages about 7-8 rebounds per; Dirk a 6-7 rebound per guy.... These 2 players are the gold standard we hope KP eventually becomes.

Those 2 also prefer the perimeter to the post.

Now, in order for KP to reach their status, and to become a true franchise player, he needs to become a MUCH better post scorer -- especially when teams try to guard him with smaller guys. We hope/expect this comes with strength and experience.

This is year 3 for him.... We should see a big step in the right direction for him.... before I worry about his rebounds and post game.... I want to see consistency and dependability. Be good every night..... play over 70
Games.

Dirk and Durant 25 pt game did not start winning in the NBA, until their coach started putting 3 decent low-post big men in the game rotation, plus force them to gell next to their teammates. Gelling teammates help each other rebound, assist, and score.

KP two season performance has not GELLED with any of his Knicks teammates .. Nor did KP and his ex-teammate WHG show us any signs of chemistry together or being on the same-page together. It's hard to tell if the two big men were ex-teammates before entering the NBA after a season.
KP inferior talent has been HYPED-UP by the Knicks organization and the New York media ..
KP need a personal season trainer, plus KP need to come off the bench, he is not starter material.

 

[paris401]

KP will NEVER be KD...NEVER... doesn't have anywhere near the athletic skills, or the shooting skills- while dirk is a step below KD , I doubt that KP will even attain his level of play... one guys opinion....

 

[tiger0330]

Speaking of Dirk clones, watch Markkanen this season. ESPN Insider article on him. Not the beanpole Porzingis is which might give him a leg up over KP in his rookie season.

HELSINKI, Finland -- Life-sized cardboard cutouts scattered throughout the city. No. 23 Finland jerseys flooding the 13,000-plus seats of Helsinki Arena. Red and black Chicago Bulls gear occasionally peering through the sea of blue and white.

And, most prominently, one 7-foot figurine that has stood in the middle of the city center during the 2017 Eurobasket. With curly hair, a cut frame, Kobe 8 Nikes and a mediocre wingspan, it's an exact carbon copy of Finland's youngest star.
"I haven't seen that one," Lauri Markkanen said as he analyzed a photo of his 7-foot plastic clone. He was sitting in the Crowne Plaza lobby less than 24 hours after knocking off Evan Fournier, Boris Diaw and France in the Eurobasket opener by scoring 22 points in 24 minutes.
"I have those shoes. They actually might be mine. Those are my Kobe 8s. Can you send me that photo?"
The 20-year-old Markkanen has rapidly evolved into the face of Finnish hoops, leading the national team known as "Susijengi," or Wolf Pack, to a 4-1 record during the Eurobasket group stage in Helsinki with wins over France, Poland, Greece and Iceland. Thanks to Markkanen's consistently clutch scoring and tremendous all-around play, Finland travels to Istanbul Thursday as one of the 16 remaining teams to compete for the 2017 European championship.
Back in the U.S., Markkanen is best known as one piece in the Chicago Bulls' widely criticized Jimmy Butler deal on draft night. So far Markkanen has shown that he's much more than a trade throw-in.

---

[h=2]Markkanen's star turn[/h]Markkanen averaged 31.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per 40 minutes on 57.4 percent from 2 and 50.0 from 3 in five groups stage games, and his popularity in the small Nordic country of 5.5 million has never been greater. After he put Susijengi on his back and led Finland to a double-overtime victory in a crucial game versus Poland, the morning paper read, "Kuningas Lauri!" (or "King Lauri!"). The president of Finland, Sauli Niinist?, stopped by the team locker room after the hard-fought win to personally thank the 7-foot sharpshooter for his play.

The most prominent fan group in Helsinki made 70 cardboard cutouts of Markkanen's face before the tournament began, even going all the way to the city's airport to hand them out to arriving fans. The basketball culture in Finland is growing rapidly, and Markkanen, both an icon for Finnish youth and a long-term asset for the national team, is at the forefront. With a quick release, great feet, deceptive explosiveness and the ability to put the ball on the floor, Markkanen is a unique talent with an impressive mentality. He is far and away the best NBA prospect in the country's history.


"He's rare," said Henrik Dettmann, the national team head coach who also coached a young Dirk Nowitzki with the German national team from 1997 to 2003. "Finland is like New Jersey. We are no bigger. We don't get a player of this caliber with all these abilities and this mentality.
"It's very unfair to compare human beings to each other but I have to say I was very lucky to be around when Dirk kind of developed and I saw him from he was 18 years old. It's hard not to say that there are at least some similarities with his ability to shoot with his long hair and with his passion for basketball and for work."

Markkanen is initially shy yet full of quirks and dry humor (he's a hardcore Borat fanatic). He's unassuming yet confident, skinny yet mentally tough. Thanks to his Eurobasket explosion he's quickly ascending into icon status and is no longer seen as the son of Pekka Markkanen, a former Susijengi standout, or the younger brother of Eero Markkanen, a 6-foot-6 striker for AIK in Sweden and formerly Real Madrid.
Markkanen, whose mother also played for the women's national team, was born and raised three hours outside of Helsinki in Jyv?skyl?, but moved to the nation's capital in 2014 to join Helsinki Basketball Academy. The president of the Finnish Basketball Federation found Markkanen and his mother an apartment in Helsinki and Markkanen began to refine his already-impressive skill set under HBA coaches Hanno Mottola, the most accomplished NBA player in Finnish history, and Antti Koskelainen.
With the guidance of Mottola, Koskelainen and Dettmann, who recruited Pekka Markkanen to Helsinki in 1986, Markkanen began to take off. He stood out at the 2015 Basketball Without Borders camp in New York during All-Star Weekend, averaging 18.2 points per game later that summer at the under-18 European championships. He eventually opted to play in the NCAA like his father (Kansas) and Mottola (Utah) before him, choosing Arizona over North Carolina and Utah. He exploded at the under-20 Euros last summer before leaving for Tucson, leading the tournament in scoring and giving Finnish fans a taste of what was to come in the near future.
Markkanen shined within his role at Arizona, starting all 37 games, shooting 42.3 percent on 3s and giving the Wildcats a different look with a 7-footer who could stretch the floor, put the ball on the deck and score with touch on occasion inside. Lacking a degree of physical toughness prior to Arizona, Markkanen began to fill out and grow.
"It was really helpful for me, just playing in Europe my whole life, the game felt a little bit different there," Markkanen said. "Coach Sean Miller is a really good coach and all the coaching staff pushed me defensively so I got a lot better there. All around I think I got a lot better. I'm more mature. I got mentally tougher."
Finland has traditionally been dominated by hockey and soccer, but it's becoming a basketball hotbed. Mike SchmitzIn June, Markkanen became the first ever Finnish lottery pick and fourth NBA draft pick in general. Thanks in large part to Markkaenen's success, additional fan support and continually improved infrastructure, Finland is gaining steam globally. HBA is sending young players to the NCAA every year and the national team is thriving.
Mottola recalls the 1995 European championships in Athens when "literally 9 or 12 people" from Finland showed up to support.
"I've seen the struggle," he said. "I've seen when no one cared about us. We played in little gyms and now we're selling out the biggest arena in the country. Everyone around the world is interested in how this is possible."
Finland sent 10,000 fans to Bilbao, Spain, for the 2014 FIBA World Championships. Susijengi has music videos on YouTube and an official theme song memorized by fans across the nation. #Susijengi is all over Twitter, and several of the hardcore fans even have Wolfpack logo tattoos inked on their skin. No. 6 was officially retired this spring and can't be worn by any national team players as it represents Finland's "Sixth Man" and rabid fan base.
The Nordic country long-dominated by ice hockey (with more than 60 active Finnish players in the NHL) and soccer is blossoming into much more of a basketball hotbed, and Markkanen has a chance to be its star for years to come.
Although Markkanen has a long history of success at the FIBA youth level, Eurobasket has been his senior national team coming-out party. He opened the eyes of NBA scouts and even members of the Chicago Bulls coaching staff, who weren't quite sure the caliber of player they were getting when they selected Markkanen No. 7 overall after acquiring the pick in the Butler deal.
"I don't want to just be in the NBA, I want to play there," Markkanen said. "My coach said I should be an All-Star at some point in my career. I took that personally so that's definitely one of the individual goals I have."

---

[h=2]How will Markkanen fit in the NBA?[/h]The Bulls sent associate head coach Jim Boylen to Helsinki to watch and meet with Markkanen and the longtime NBA assistant must have left Finland ecstatic over their young player's skill set and productivity.
Chicago, which didn't work out Markkanen during the pre-draft process, finished last season 28th in the NBA in 3-pointers made per game, 29th in 3-pointers attempted and 24th in 3-point percentage. Markkanen will provide instant floor-spacing for a team that will need a shot in the arm offensively with Butler in Minnesota and Nikola Mirotic still unsigned. Markkanen (career 41.2 percent from deep in our database) is a more reliable shooter than Mirotic (career 35.9 percent) and should be able to provide more versatility than the 6-10 free agent, even as a 20-year-old.
If the Bulls truly believe in recently acquired, erratic-shooting point guard Kris Dunn, they'll need a floor-spacing pick-and roll-partner like Markkanen to give the former Providence guard some breathing room.
Although the Butler trade may never look like a win for the Bulls, Markkanen could help ease the blow. He looks more than prepared to have an instant impact in an area of need for Fred Hoiberg's Bulls.
NBA-ready skills
Markkanen is a versatile shooter with a quick, simple release who can fill it up in a variety of ways. While the majority of his offense figures to come out of transition drag screens and half-court pick-and-pops, Markkanen is also comfortable making one or two dribble pull-ups, especially going to his left. He has excellent footwork on pull-ups and even showed some shot creation ability against NBA-level athletes like Anthony Randolph, creating space with step backs.
With Markkanen's ability to spot shoot, make pull-ups, attack the rim in a straight line -- combined with his sound overall basketball IQ -- he could be an interesting weapon as a pick-and-roll ball handler in quick-hitting, second-side actions, especially if he's able to play more 5 down the road. Although he has always been quite versatile at the FIBA level, Markkanen often looked a bit one-dimensional at the college level with not nearly as much space to work with.
Improving skill
Defenses had a lot of success switching every screen Markkanen was involved in at Arizona, staying attached to him on the perimeter and taking away his jumper. Not the most naturally physical player, Markkanen wasn't able to bury guards in the post with hard duck-ins and was too often neutralized.
At Eurobasket, he has looked much more comfortable operating on the block after switches, making fallaways over either shoulder, using an up-and-under step-through and even facilitating a little bit. Continuing to find more ways to punish switches will be important for him moving forward.
Misconceptions
While not a freak athlete by any means, Markkanen's above-average positional fluidity wasn't always on display at Arizona like it has been at the FIBA level. He's not very quick twitch or the most explosive runner, but Markkanen is a good leaper off of two feet in space and moves really well for a player his size. He'll greatly benefit from the added space in the NBA.
Most importantly, Markkanen's feet on the defensive end likely didn't get the credit that they deserved. Markkanen got good experience chasing around collegiate power forwards like Miles Bridges on the perimeter and he should be able to at least hold his own guarding 4s and switching ball screens in the NBA. Although he lacks length relative to his height and isn't a defensive anchor, Markkanen can be more than adequate defending the perimeter in the NBA.
Improvement areas
Markkanen still needs to improve as an interior defender and defensive rebounder, which will be a factor in how many minutes he can play at the 5. While his body is improved, he's not overly strong or physical, struggles versus hard duck-ins and aggressive post-ups and isn't always the most natural defensive rebounder in traffic. He can also improve his ability to play going to his right and his finishing in traffic.
However, the NBA is trending in Markkanen's direction with far fewer traditional post touches, and if he's able to provide value switching on the perimeter his defensive rebounding concerns aren't quite as glaring.
Eurobasket standout Synergy stats (10 games | four group stage, six friendlies)

• 1.395 PPP on spot-ups, 95th percentile
  
• 0.84 PPP on post-ups, 59th percentile
  
• 5-11 on pull-up jumpers
  
• 61 percent at the rim in the half court
  

 

[Kiyaman]

KP will NEVER be KD...NEVER... doesn't have anywhere near the athletic skills, or the shooting skills- while dirk is a step below KD , I doubt that KP will even attain his level of play... one guys opinion....

So True .. Durant's NBA 2nd season skills n IQ were 20 steps above KP performance today.
Dirk came into the league surrounded by all-star teammates Nash/Finley/Van Exel that help Dirk Master the Pick n Roll throughout Dirk's 2nd/3rd NBA season. Plus Dirk's opponents in the Western Conference was 100 times tougher than the NBA league today .. Shaq, Malone, Duncan, KG, Webber, Rasheed, Amare, Yao, Camby

I'm sorry to mention .. everything KP learned from the veteran teammates and the new head coach in KP 2nd season was worth throwing out the nearest window .. I too would have missed the final team meeting of the season in hope of being traded ASAP.

 

[and1]

i'm sticking to the same statement i made a while ago. if what we saw this past season was the equivalent to KP's 'sophomore slump'... i'm all in. LMAO that wasn't such a bad 'slump' at all.