Jeff tries to nix talk of Kristaps exit

Jeff Hornacek was adamant that Kristaps Porzingis will be back with the Knicks next season, even though the coach still hasn’t heard from his future star and wishes he hadn’t bailed on their exit meeting. Speaking for the first time since Porzingis’ discontent became very public with the skipped meeting, a cryptic tweet and Phil Jackson’s stated willingness to listen to trade offers, Hornacek was asked about his certainty that the Latvian will remain with the franchise. “There’s no doubt in my mind,” Hornacek said. Still, that confidence isn’t based on anything Porzingis told him directly. Hornacek said his only contact with Porzingis was a text message that probably went ignored, as Hornacek declined to answer — while holding a guilty smile — whether Porzingis responded to his text. Either way, the communication chasm remains. “Guys make decisions and live with those decisions. It just would’ve been a good opportunity to talk about what the concerns are moving forward,” Hornacek said. “You can’t do anything about the past. That’s the big thing. Whatever happened and went on, you can’t dwell on it.” Porzingis bolted to Europe following the season and announced his plans to play for the Latvian national team this summer, without seeking approval from the Knicks. He recently tweeted from his verified account, “L.A. Clippers (with three smiley faces),” opening up speculation he desires that West Coast location over New York. Porzingis said he was hacked, but his disappointment with the Knicks is well-documented. Among the many contentions was that Porzingis didn’t progress last season while playing among dysfunction and with a point guard — Derrick Rose — who dominates the ball.

Hornacek pushed back on the idea that Porzingis didn’t improve in Year Two.

“I think he did. I think what everybody has to realize is that when you go from your first year to your second year, you’re not a surprise anymore,” Hornacek said. “So if you look at his stats and what he did, they’re about the same per minute. Now is that progress? Well, I think it is because there was a lot more focus on him this year. He wasn’t a surprise to anybody.”

Jackson, who never showed up to the combine Thursday with the Knicks contingent, declared last month that the Latvian isn’t ready to be the No. 1 option.

Porzingis has two years remaining on his rookie deal and Hornacek was clear he’s still part of their future. Anthony is a different story.

Hornacek wouldn’t go as far Jackson by declaring Anthony is better off on another team, but he allowed himself to envision the Knicks without their leading scorer next season.

“I don’t know (if I agree with Jackson), Carmelo is a great player,” Hornacek said. “He did a lot of good things for us. He won us games. He hit some big shots for us. He was a guy who we could go to. If he’s back, he’s a guy who we can go to again. If he’s not, then that’s when other guys will have to become the guy that he can go to or get us big buckets.”