Unlike Andrea, ’Taps will grow on city
LAS VEGAS — Andrea Bargnani is moving across the river after signing a contract with the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday in what will likely be the Italian’s last attempt at salvaging his NBA career. His two-year run at Madison Square Garden was an abject failure and the repercussions will be felt next June with the Knicks having traded away their 2016 first-round pick for the underachieving forward.
The timing of Bargnani’s departure is appropriate since it comes 24 hours after Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks’ new international man of mystery, made his impressive rookie summer league debut. Think of it as a trade. A no-brainer of a trade.
Porzingis has some of the same skills as the highly talented Bargnani but that is where most of the comparisons end. And that’s a good thing for the Knicks. Porzingis has the attitude and personality to mesh perfectly in an ever-changing Knicks locker room. He’s upbeat, honest and understands there is a lot riding on him, including Phil Jackson’s reputation as a talent evaluator.
Porzingis didn’t shrink after fans unfairly booed his selection on the draft night. Instead, he laughed it off and accepted the skepticism as a challenge. After a solid first game on Saturday, Porzingis told reporters that “hopefully some of those booing fans are cheering for me.” He is the anti-Bargnani.
The aloof Bargnani was unfailingly miserable and not just when he was dealing with the media. He was never a good fit in the Knicks locker room, having arrived just as four popular veteran teammates — Jason Kidd, Kurt Thomas, Rasheed Wallace and Marcus Camby — were leaving.
The Knicks won 54 games and reached the second round of the playoffs prior to acquiring Bargnani, a former top overall pick, from Toronto. Over his two seasons at the Garden, the Knicks won a total of 54 games.
Bargnani was never healthy or happy with the Knicks and became an easy target for frustrated fans. He played in 71 games and certainly had his share of bad luck; Bargnani suffered a torn elbow ligament after crashing to the floor following a botched dunk attempt. He played the final two months of last season with an injured thumb, which is admirable but it was a little too late.
Some of his teammates wondered why Bargnani didn’t show that same resolve a year earlier when the Knicks were fighting Atlanta for a playoff berth.
Jose Calderon, Bargnani’s teammate in Toronto, was his best friend with the Knicks and his strongest advocate. Calderon said that even though Bargnani didn’t show much emotion, he was frustrated that injuries were preventing him from helping the Knicks. That may be true but Bargnani never connected with the fans or his teammates.
Porzingis is different. There is a YouTube video of the 7-foot-3 Latvian rapping. He says he loves mingling with fans but admitted that while fans are nice to him in public they are “not so nice on social media.”
He’s a kid but for a 19-year-old, he is incredibly grounded. Thus far, Porzingis has embraced everything about New York and the Knicks. And that’s no small feat.
The Garden has not been a welcoming place for high-profile Europeans. The immortal Frenchman, Frédéric Weis, selected 15th overall in 1999, had no interest in joining the NBA and played his last professional game in 2011.
Danilo Gallinari, drafted 6th overall in the 2008, showed tremendous potential despite being limited to just 28 games as a rookie due to a back injury.
The following season, Gallinari appeared in 81 games, averaged 15.1 points and was gone by February 2011 when he was included in the Carmelo Anthony trade. And then there’s Bargnani.
Porzingis was selected fourth overall last month and he’ll try to change a disturbing trend of Europeans selected in the lottery. Since 1998 when Dirk Nowitzki was drafted, only two of 18 Europeans lottery picks — Nowitzki and Pau Gasol — have made and All-Star team.
Porzingis won’t be an All-Star as a rookie and he has a long way to go before he becomes a contributing player on a contending team. But he’ll give everything he has to make that happen. Trying and caring go a long way. Bargnani never understood that. Porzingis already gets it.