New York Knicks: How Kristaps Porzingis’ injury might help the rebuild

Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images /
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The New York Knicks are still competing without Kristaps Porzingis, and his injury could end up being helpful to the team.

The New York Knicks are currently playing without their superstar, Kristaps Porzingis. The 7’3″ big man out of Latvia has been out with a torn ACL since February, with no timetable yet set for his return.

While the Unicorn has been recovering, the Knicks have been playing better than most people expected. Don’t get this wrong, they are not remotely close to being a playoff team, but they are far off from being the worst team in the NBA as many people had predicted.

To be completely honest, this injury has been working out quite nicely for New York’s rebuilding process.

First off, rookie Mitchell Robinson would probably be spending most of his time in the G-League if Porzingis were healthy and on the active roster. Instead, he has been the team’s starting center for a few weeks now, as Enes Kanter is mostly being used as an energy spark off the bench.

But Robinson is not the only pleasant surprise of the season thus far. Allonzo Trier and Damyean Dotson have both been great so far, which very few expected.

While there is a chance that both these guys would be spending the same time on the court as they are now due to the fact that Kristaps plays a different position, their chances would be extremely limited. Having a guy take close to 20 shots per game would certainly limit the time they’d spend with the ball in their hands.

The injury also seems to be extremely helpful for the future when taking a look at next year’s NBA Draft class. An excellent group of players like Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett and Romeo Langford could all be available in June.

The New York Knicks have not been terrible to start off the season. Add Porzingis to that mix and you have a borderline playoff team. Were the Knicks to obtain a mid-tier seed, they would kiss that top pick in the draft goodbye.

Now, on track for a top-five pick, a big-name prospect is most likely heading to NY. Who knows? Maybe now is the time to get the piece that helps Porzingis dominate the East in the future.

Lastly, let’s take a look at the best-case scenario for the Knicks. By tanking this season, they’re basically guaranteed a very high selection in the NBA Draft, which could translate into a future superstar for the team, or at least a core piece to pair with Porzingis, Robinson, Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina.

The Knicks can then take advantage of their cap space, as well as the fact that they are a big-market team, in order to lure a big-name free agent to the Big Apple. The likes of Kemba Walker, Kevin Durant and Jimmy Butler have all been previously linked to the team.

All these guys want to win. All these guys want what’s best for their legacy. Joining a young and promising team is something very few NBA fans would criticize. Take LeBron James and his decision to join the Los Angeles Lakers, for example. It is a low-risk/high-reward type of move.

While Knicks fans have been dreaming of the best possible scenario for their team for years now, something like that could realistically happen next summer.

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The bottom line is, losing Kristaps Porzingis to an injury may seem bad at first, but if he can return to full strength in due time, it could signal the start of a dynasty for the future.