SEEING DOUBLE
Knicks seek rare road win as KP squares off against fellow Euro big
Kristaps Porzingis can laugh about it now. The always-baffling prospect that the Knicks would trade him has only grown more absurd.
But when Arizona’s Lauri Markkanen was in New York this offseason, it wasn’t certain Porzingis would remain a Knick.
As Phil Jackson considered sending away a 21-year-old Latvian, who was one of the league’s most unique talents, and the team’s most popular player, the former Knicks president met with Markkanen, a 7-footer from Finland, whose sweet shot and massive potential made him a consideration with the team’s eighth pick in the draft.
A potential replacement for Porzingis was in place.
“I heard about it. I read it on Twitter,” Porzingis said Friday. “Maybe it was the plan. Maybe it didn’t go that way, but I’m happy I’m still here.”
Porzingis and Markkanen have talked on the phone and texted with each other, but will meet for the first time when the Knicks (12-12) play at Chicago (4-20) on Saturday night, looking for just their second road win of the season.
Markkanen, who was selected seventh by the Timberwolves, was traded on draft night to the Bulls — as part of the Jimmy Butler deal — and is averaging 14.7 points and 8.1 rebounds following Friday night’s 119-111 overtime victory over the Hornets.
While Porzingis has become one of the league’s most valuable players in his third season, the Knicks star believes the 20-year-old Markkanen, who often is compared with him is ahead of his pace. Porzingis first saw him play at the Euro Basket championship this summer, where Markkanen averaged 19.5 points in six games.
“He’s having a great year so far,” Porzingis said. “He can shoot it from outside, and he’s actually much stronger than I was when I came into the league. He’s more NBA-ready than when I came in.
“I was actually surprised to see him perform at that level at the European championship. When I saw him, I knew he was gonna be able to do damage in the NBA also.”
Porzingis plans to play in both games of the back-to-back set this weekend — the Knicks host the Hawks (5-19) on Sunday — and said he didn’t suffer any setbacks to his sprained right ankle in his return to the court Wednesday, after missing a week of action.
“It felt really good, actually,” Porzingis said. “I was surprised, I thought it was gonna be a little stiff in the morning or something, but I woke up and it was feeling really good.
“During the game I didn’t even realize I was coming back from an injury, and the day after it felt good so there are no concerns on my side. … I’m looking forward to this back-to-back.”
Perhaps this weekend will be when his shot comes back.
Since scoring 30 or more points in eight of the first 11 games, Porzingis has failed to hit that mark in the past eight games, and hasn’t shot better than 50 percent from the field since Nov. 11.
“I don’t want to overthink it,” Porzingis said. “I’m just gonna go out and try and play my game, and the rhythm is gonna come back. Teammates are gonna find me in good positions and I’m gonna have to make the right decisions, and that’s how you get back your rhythm.
“Even if I’m not in rhythm, there’s a lot more things that I can do in the game, blocking shots, defense, all that. That’s how you can get yourself in the game also. I will try to find ways to get back to my game.”