Kristaps Porzingis‘ recovery timeline following his ACL surgery remains somewhat unclear, but he almost certainly won’t be ready to start the 2018/19 season, and his absence could extend far beyond opening night. Speaking to Larry Brooks of The New York Post, Knicks owner James Dolan admitted that he still doesn’t have a clear idea of when Porzingis might be ready to return.
“I’ve been told everything from December to him being out for the season, so I don’t know what to expect on that,” Dolan said. “But we can’t just sit on our ass while he’s away. We need to develop a team and then integrate him into it when he comes back.”
With the Knicks facing a big offseason that will see them name a new head coach and make the necessary roster moves to move forward in their rebuilding process, Dolan spoke to Brooks about a number of topics. While he touched on the team’s plan going forward, the Knicks owner also revisited the past, discussing a pair of former Knicks employees in Phil Jackson and Jeff Hornacek.
Here are a few of the most notable comments from Dolan:
On hiring – and eventually firing – Jackson as president of basketball operations:
“The entire market wanted to me to hire him and when I did, the entire market said it was a great move. The only thing was, everyone said that I shouldn’t interfere with him. Three years later, everyone wanted to know when I was going to do something about Phil. The same people who told me not to interfere wanted me to interfere. But that’s OK. I just think that Phil underestimated the job.”
On why Hornacek was fired:
“I think Hornacek had the same kind of issue that Phil did in that he didn’t grasp how different the players are now in the way they think and deal with management and the coaches. I think he was way behind on that. But I think Jeff is a good coach and he’ll do well when he’s hired by another team.”
On the Knicks’ current coaching search:
“The coaching search for the Knicks is similar in a lot of ways to the (NHL’s New York) Rangers. I think the teams are in similar spots. We’re looking for people to develop players and to create a winning team. We have our lists of candidates, but the lists are still open.”
In that case the coming year should be about finding a coach and handing the keys over to Frank Ntilikina the coming season permanently and see what he can do with the Knicks. Frank will become a star next season.
I don’t know about star, but he did show improvement towards the TAIL END of the season. If he is able to continue to develop during the off season and shows significant improvement and maintains that success, i’m sure he could be a potential candidate for most improved player next season. Definitely not showing star material at the moment.
Love your optimism, but he’s not a star. Michael Cooper ceiling.
The way Mr. Dolan throws others under the bus and refuses to take “ownership” of his own mistakes reminds me of a politician. Perhaps he views himself as exempt from blame because he is at the top of the food chain. Public opinion deems otherwise. If losing does not humble him … or PR nightmares like the Oakley case do not make him aware of how to treat others with kindness, I’m not sure anything will.
Who the hell thought hiring Phil was a great move? Pretty sure the “entire market” thought it was a crazy idea from the jump.
And even if they did, why is he listening to “the entire market”? I thought the goal was to be better than the field, not copy it.