Kanter’s mouth fixed up
IN A matter of a few hours, Kristaps Porzingis lost his season and his buddy. Willy Hernangomez, the disgruntled Knicks center, was dealt Wednesday to the Hornets for two second-round picks, terminating a career in New York that peaked last season with an All-Rookie selection and ended after his public plea for a separation.
The picks acquired by the Knicks are in 2020 and 2021 and both are Charlotte’s outright. The Knicks also acquired journeyman Johnny O’Bryant, whom they plan to waive after the physicals are completed.
The Knicks were hoping for a first-round pick but obviously couldn’t swing it.
“Part of our plan moving forward is acquiring vehicles that are going to help us get better. We were without second-round picks — and we value first- and second-round picks — but we were without second-round picks in 2020 and 2021,” GM Scott Perry said. “So this deal allowed us to do that. It’s going to provide more flexibility for us in a number of ways and we felt it was a good deal for us in our efforts to continue to build this team.”
The Knicks may not be finished before Thursday’s trade deadline and Perry said the calls have intensified. He’s been shopping Kyle O’Quinn and Courtney Lee but neither of those players were drawing the same interest as 23-year-old Hernangomez.
The Knicks would also love to shed Joakim Noah — who remains exiled, indefinitely — but his albatross contract is untradeable.
The compensation for Hernangomez can be viewed through two lenses. Either it was a good haul for a player with defensive deficiencies who couldn’t crack the rotation on a bad Knicks team. Or, it was an awful return for an All-Rookie selection who was designated as a cornerstone player just before the season.
Certainly the Knicks would’ve retrieved more had they dealt Hernangomez in the offseason. But that was before the Spaniard was supplanted in the rotation by Enes Kanter and O’Quinn. He logged 29 DNPs through 55 games, all healthy scratches.
“It became a real competition, and that’s how the competition played out,” Perry said. “For Willy, it didn’t work out in his favor.”
In Charlotte, Hernangomez is joining another crowded frontcourt with Dwight Howard, Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller and Frank Kaminsky. But the assumption is that one of them will be moved to make room for Hernangomez.
In his statement, Charlotte GM Rich Cho alluded to Hernangomez’s thorny situation in New York.
“(Hernangomez) showed last season that he can contribute when given an opportunity,” Cho said.
The lack of an opportunity is why Hernangomez asked out of the Knicks. His friendship with Porzingis — which started when they were teenaged teammates in Spain — will presumably stay in tact.
ENES Kanter finally got his mouth fixed. After reopening a wound that had been stitched and restitched during Tuesday night’s loss to the Bucks, the Knicks center had oral surgery, giving the world a medical update on Twitter.
“Total of 30 stitches,” Kanter posted Wednesday with a thumbs-up and gauze in his mouth. “#KeepFighting”
The hashtag may as well be directed to the rest of the Knicks after the team’s latest dismal contest. Kristaps Porzingis left the game with what was later diagnosed as a torn ACL, which has put an end to his season.
And on Wednesday, the Knicks traded fellow big man Willy Hernangomez to the Hornets, as the team sets up for a roster rebuild.
Kanter, however, is still enjoying a successful debut season in New York. He finished Tuesday with 19 points and 16 rebounds, extending his double-double streak to five games.