Brother: Porzingis Wants To Stay In New York

Janis Porzingis, the brother of Kristaps Porzingis, reiterated to Ian Begley of ESPN.com that the Knicks big man wants to remain New York, despite the seemingly rocky nature of the relationship between the team and the player as of late. As Begley details, Janis also issued something of a warning to teams that might be interested in trading for his brother.

“Kris wants to stay in New York; he feels at home there. There is no question about it. The only thing he wants is for the Knicks to create an environment where he can develop and grow as a player and win,” Janis Porzingis told Begley. “If he were traded, he would play out his contract and head into free agency, where he can choose his own destiny.”

While family members’ statements on behalf of NBA players should generally be taken with a grain of salt, it’s worth noting that Janis isn’t just Kristaps’ brother — he’s also a certified agent who works for ASM Sports, the home of Kristaps’ agent Andy Miller. As such, Janis’ comments carry some extra weight, and his statement about the Knicks echoes what Kristaps said about the team last month, when he insisted that he loves New York and wants to remain with the Knicks.

As for Janis’ comments about a hypothetical trade, any team interested in Porzingis would have to consider the possibility of him bolting at the end of his contract. But since Porzingis remains on his rookie deal, he’d only be eligible for restricted free agency when it expires in 2019, giving New York – or another team – plenty of leverage to hang onto him. In any case, the Knicks aren’t expected to seriously explore trading Porzingis at this point.

Although the 2016/17 season came to an end for his Knicks nearly a month ago, Porzingis has continued to dominate NBA headlines in recent weeks. After skipping his exit meeting with the organization, Porzingis made plans to spend his summer in his native Latvia. That prompted teams to inquire with the Knicks about Porzingis’ availability, and the 21-year-old created a stir when a Clippers-themed message was posted and deleted to his Twitter account; he later claimed he was hacked.