KP A STAR TO KYRIE!
Wishes ‘talented’ Knick well
USA TODAY & AP LOS ANGELES — Back in October, Kyrie Irving had a message for Kristaps Porzingis: “I told him, I would love to play with a big like you, man.”
Four months later, Irving’s opportunity to toss alley-oops to the Latvian was derailed by the ACL tear — an injury that not only finished Porzingis’ season, but ruined his opportunity to even attend All-Star weekend since the surgery was just last week.
“It’s one thing that absolutely sucks — in sports and life sometimes — is going through injuries,” said Irving, who underwent his own knee surgery in 2016. “So I’m sending my well wishes to him. And great energy. That dude is so freakin’ talented. It’s tough, man. It’s tough.
“You just hope that mentally he’s able to jump over those hurdles. It’s tough coming back and knowing the process and kind of having that window that you’re trying to hit in terms of how long you have to wait in order to do certain things. But I know he’s always in the gym, he’s always a hard worker. So I wish Porzingis nothing but the best. …He’s so versatile”
While All-Star Game viewers missed out, Knicks fans can still dream. Prior to his injury, Porzingis told the Daily News that he hoped to use this weekend to recruit his fellow All-Stars. Separately, he called Irving, “one of my favorite players.”
“I appreciate that,” Irving responded Saturday.
Irving, who grew up in North Jersey, placed the Knicks on his short list of desirable destinations after requesting a trade from the Cavaliers. But team president Steve Mills was reluctant — if not totally averse — to making Porzingis available to the Cavs, and that left New York with its best recruiting tool for when it plans to clear cap space for a superstar free agent in the summer of 2019. That’s also when Irving is scheduled to hit the market. “I love his game. He’s one of my favorite players,” Porzingis said of Irving. “I think he’s one of the most entertaining guys. And he’s clutch. He’s clutch and a winner. I love that about him.” Of course, much of New York’s future is reliant on Porzingis’ recovery. The 22-year-old was in the middle of his best season — albeit another inconsistent one — when he landed awkwardly on Feb. 6 and the left knee gave out. There’s been no timetable for Porzingis’ recovery, but he’s expected to be out at least 10 months. “I was in my room when it happened and I immediately texted him,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “I tried to call him. Obviously he was busy. But I was hurting for him. That’s like my brother. Just to see him go through something like that is obviously very traumatic.” Porzingis and Towns grew close during the 2015 draft process, and are the only two of that class to be named All-Stars. Towns now has an edge in being the first to actually play in the game Sunday, and likely the first of the two to be competing in the playoffs with the T-Wolves this season. Still, Towns believes Porzingis will get back on track. “He texted me back and said he’s good, he’s fine, he’s going to be better and I told him I believe nothing but that — that he’s going to come back stronger, sharper and even healthier than before,” Towns said. “I’m disappointed because obviously he was a firsttime All-Star, he was going to have his dream come true. So it just has to be postponed. I don’t think this is his last opportunity. I think this is just postponed to something bigger and he’ll be here many more times.”