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New York Knicks: 2017-18 season preview

By Josh Cornelissen

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Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images /

Storyline 2: Is Kristaps Porzingis ready to become a superstar?

The NBA rookie class of 2015-16 took the league by storm in their first season, as an uncommonly high number of players stepped in and made immediate impacts. Kristaps Porzingis was one of many rookies to flash high upside, from bigs like Karl-Anthony Towns, Nikola Jokic and Myles Turner to guards such as Devin Booker and D’Angelo Russell.

The upside of that class is still extremely high, and multiple players look to challenge for the All-Star team or lead their teams to the postseason. Outside of Towns, no player is looked to with a higher ceiling, or with greater expectations, than Kristaps Porzingis.

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    • If and when Carmelo Anthony is traded, Porzingis will entirely become the face of the Knicks’ franchise. He is already their best player, ascending as Anthony’s star is descending. But best player on a mediocre team is not the dream for the Latvian unicorn. Can Porzingis become more, and take on the mantle of a superstar?

    The Knicks and their fans are hoping that Porzingis can do what Anthony struggled to do — lead a team of spare parts to the postseason. The dysfunction of their roster has already been expressed; the only major agent of change in the equation is the development of Porzingis.

    There are certain things Porzingis does extremely well, from defending the rim and swiping shots to scoring with touch and shooting the basketball. Can he develop a passing vision that maximizes the players around him? Can he improve his agility and knowledge of the game to play elite defense in space, and not just at the rim?

    It’s unfair for the weight of expectations to demand more of Porzingis than he can offer, especially when he can offer so much. He should be an All-Star this season, but expecting something more is asking a kid barely old enough to drink to be better than great, and to grow his game faster than he can.

    Kristaps Porzingis will be very good this season, but he is not yet ready to be a superstar. If the team can put pieces around him, the playoffs are a reasonable future, but they are not a lock, and they are not the present for this team.

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