FORTE KNOX
Rookie lottery pick looking to build on strong summer
The first meeting between Kevin Knox and Kristaps Porzingis came Wednesday at the Knicks’ practice facility in Tarrytown. The franchise bedrocks haven’t sat for a meaningful talk yet, but Knox was impressed.
“He’s taller than I expected,” the 6foot-9 Knox told The Post. “He’s 7-3. I thought when someone’s 7-3, he’s really a little more than 7 foot. He’s 7-3. Mitchell [Robinson] is about 7 foot. He was standing over Mitch.”
The first game Knox and Porzingis will share on the court is to be determined, pending when the Knicks decide to let the Latvian loose. Developing their chemistry is the best reason to get Porzingis back sooner rather than later.
Porzingis was hardly around the team after his February ACL tear. He was around Wednesday.
“He looked pretty good walking around — making right strides,” Knox said during a promotional appearance for Subway in lower Manhattan.
“Porzingis was there cheering us on during conditioning tests. He looked excited and I look forward to playing with him. He looked really healthy.”
Soon, there will be more to talk about than Knox’s 21.3 points per game scoring average in his alphadog Las Vegas summer league in July. The first practice of training camp is Tuesday, and the preseason opener is Oct. 1 at Washington.
In last month’s annual poll, Knox’s fellow rookies voted him tied for third with Luka Doncic for Rookie of the Year and second for rookie slated for best career.
“That’s pretty good for a season that hasn’t started from your fellow peers,” the 19-year-old former Kentucky forward said. “Tied for third, Rookie of the Year, second-best for best career. Of course that’s not where I want to be. I want to be first, but the season hasn’t started, and I have 82 games to prove them wrong.”
He was joking — probably. Knicks brass talks incessantly about Knox’s devotion “to be great” and how that was the deciding factor between him and Mikal Bridges with the No. 9 pick in the draft.
“I put a lot of work in and feel it’s going to pay off,” Knox said. “It paid off in summer league and want to keep the same mentality. [Coach David] Fizdale has been helping me a lot this summer on stuff to work on. I really want to exceed expectations and have a great rookie year.”
A perfectionist, Knox was also critical of his Vegas outings. He shot 35 percent, but that belied the All-Star potential he showed.
“A lot of times I took bad shots,” Knox said. “Some baskets and passes I could’ve made. This summer, I’m really working on my passing a lot — on pick-and-rolls, driving to the basket and kicking. I watched a lot of film of the summer league. I missed some layups, a lot of shots I should’ve made.”
Proving his worth on defense could stand as a key to Knox’s bid for Rookie of the Year. Fizdale said this week he will “challenge him defensively” so he can “take his lumps.”
“It’s going to be a tough year,” Knox said. “I know Fizdale — man of his word. He’s going to put me on LeBron [James], KD [Kevin Durant], Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and see how I do defensively. It’s going to be a great experience. Some nights I’ll get killed. Sometimes I’m going to win. It’s a learning experience. I’ll have fun with it. I’ll learn, watch a lot of film from it, get better at it. Some nights it’s going to be hell.”
After summer league, Knox took time off to travel, but has been back working at Tarrytown since early August.
“Post work defensively, moves LeBron did in Miami, little tips,” Knox said when asked about Fizdale’s instruction.
Fizdale has also urged Knox to take the raw rookie Robinson under his wing because he hasn’t been in this team environment since high school.
“He wanted me to take more of a leadership role. So I texted Mitchell [to] ask him if he wants to get in gym with the coaches at 11 a.m. on Sunday,” Knox said of Robinson, who skipped college to prepare for the NBA draft.
“We ate breakfast, got work in, had lunch. We’re building that chemistry together. Mitch is laid back, don’t talk much. I’m one of the people he likes to talk to. I’m trying to get him to feeling more comfortable in the locker room.”