GM Perry at least preaching hope
IT won’t speed up Kristaps Porzingis’ rehab process, but credit Knicks general manager Scott Perry for jumping in to pacify a saddened fan base with a series of well-intended sentiments.
It’s part of the job (former president Phil Jackson didn’t think it was). And Perry, in his first year as a GM, carried it out seamlessly. That’s why president Steve Mills hired him. No matter an Orlando résumé that hardly glistens, there are few in the NBA who will say an unkind word about Perry’s competence on or off the record.
You don’t have to believe the Perry spin, but maybe it prevented some Knicks fans from quitting on this cursed franchise, which hasn’t won a title since 1973 and has won one playoff series since 2000.
Not only does the Porzingis Apocalypse mean a fifth straight season out of the playoffs, but likely a sixth. And Forbes still announced this week the Knicks as the top-valued franchise in the NBA at $3.6 billion.
That’s for James Dolan to celebrate, not the fans who were told by Perry to keep their heads up. They got this. The 2019-20 season still may look very good.
Perry spoke three separate times since Porzingis crumpled to the court Tuesday — something Nostradamus couldn’t predict — because he’s been scarce since early December. This was real leadership.
Perry’s “overarching’’ senti- ment? This doesn’t affect the longterm vision. It’s about cap space in 2019 and still building around Porzingis to make sure the damaged 7-foot-3 unicorn comes back to “a group more cohesive, stronger and hopefully a little more talented.” He vowed Porzingis will return “bigger, better, stronger.’’
As such, the Knicks brass made two bold trades at the deadline, essentially giving up on Willy Hernangomez as a building block and substituting the 7-foot-1 Vanderbilt kid, Luke Kornet. Then they added Emmanuel Mudiay to the point guard mix to give them more talent and options.
“It wasn’t going to be an overnight turnaround,” Perry said Friday. “We’re going to continue to add talent. We’re going to continue to make moves that are very prudent not only from a talent perspective but managing the salary cap. We have a plan in place to get there.”
Perry acknowledged “the fan base enduring a lot of tough years.”
“But I’m excited and invigorated as ever that we’re going to be able to get where we want to get,’’ Perry added. “Got to just stay the course. … It’s not going to deter us from what we’re trying to accomplish since we got here.”
It probably will. The odds of Porzingis becoming a superstar decreases. But in the most catastrophic times, at least Knicks management delivered some hope.