The Heartbreaking Porzingis ACL Injury
And how the NBA trade deadline affected the New York Knicks
Kristaps Porzingis tore his left ACL this week against the Milwaukee Bucks in a home game at Madison Square Garden. The details of the injury, how it happened, when it happened, and all the other intricacies of it, are too painful to speak of and write about for Knicks fans.
All I want to state about the game, was that Kristaps was dominating, and looked to be clearly the best player on the court, despite sharing it with Milwaukee Bucks star, and friend Giannis Antetokounmpo. For those who have seen Giannis highlights this year, they know of the buzz surrounding him of being the next big thing, but Knicks fans have seen that when Kristaps is in the right situations (rare because Hornacek cannot rotate properly), he is the perfect franchise cornerstone. A perfect franchise cornerstone has not been in New York since Patrick Ewing was drafted #1 overall out of Georgetown.
That’s why this is so painful. The Knicks have been bad for a long time, and each time they look to head in the right direction, disaster strikes. The ACL injury is one of the worst in sport. The magnitude of this situation is amplified by the fact it happened in New York, like any basketball matter in New York. Knowing this, the level of scrutiny on the Knicks will still be high despite their best player being out for the next 12 months.
Enter Scott Perry. The Knicks GM just navigated his first NBA trade deadline with the Knicks, and strategies were no doubt changed after the injury. Leaving only days before the deadline for Perry to show his hand for only the second time as GM. The only other time Perry has shown his trading skills was trading Carmelo Anthony to OKC before the season started, which resulted nicely in acquiring starting center Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and the Chicago Bulls 2nd Round Pick.
The landscape has changed significantly since then, primarily because of the torn left ACL of Porzingis. The Porzingis injury was the final nail in the coffin. There were playoff hopes until late January, but this forced the Perry and the Knicks front office to make moves.
Hernagomez for O’Bryant, 2020 & 2021 2nd Rounders
Willy Hernangomez requested a trade last week, wanting playing time, and was traded to a roster which has three lottery selected centers: Dwight Howard, Cody Zeller, and Frank Kaminsky. Good luck in Charlotte, Willy. Brutal move by the Knicks. Acquiring picks in years where the Knicks do not have their own 2nd rounders was good business. This deal is as simple as that for me. Hernangomez’s ceiling appeared to be what Enes Kanter already is, and Kanter could not be moved due to his salary.
Grade: C-
I won’t fail the Knicks on this, but it is awfully close. Willy’s lack of development this season was very frustrating, but reports suggest he did not try carve out a role, and Kanter and O’Quinn were far more deserving of the playing time. Bringing back two second rounders was a good enough haul for this to be a pass. Keep in mind Orlando only got one second rounder for former lottery selection Elfrid Payton.
Doug McDermott to Dallas, Devin Harris to Denver, and Emmanuel Mudiay to New York
The Knicks could have had Elfrid Payton, but opted for the 21 year old Mudiay. Terrific move by Scott Perry! Mudiay was pick 7 in Porzingis’ draft (KP went #4) and has not been given a great opportunity in Denver behind Jamal Murray and Gary Harris. I was high on Mudiay back when the Knicks opted for Porzingis, and am excited by this. The point of discussion has been the playing time of Frank Ntilikina, and this is fair. But the inclusion of Mudiay is not the problem. Simply put the problem is Jarrett Jack playing for the Knicks at age 34. It is pointless. There is no reason for Jack to play. Bench him and do something like this with backcourt minutes:
PG: Ntilikina, Burke
SG: Lee, Mudiay (Hardaway plays SF in my eyes)
So, the end of the season will see lots of L’s. And that is exciting. It is unfortunate that is took something as disastrous as a superstar doing an ACL before he even reaches his prime for the Knicks to do a clean build, but it is upon us. The 2018 NBA Draft is going to have a lot of eyes on it, with players like Doncic, Ayton, Bamba, Bagley, Young, and Porter Jr. all a chsnce to land in New York City! Those players all sound nice as franchise cornerstones to help Kristaps and the Knicks.
