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The re-emergence of Kristaps Porzing is another painful reminder of Knicks

There will be nothing more painful for a Knicks fan when it comes to restarting Orlando than watching the Dallas Mavericks compete.

The resurgent Mavericks, who had a 40-27 record when the season was suspended in March due to the coronavirus, bragged about the 7 and 3-foot Kristaps Porzingis – and even a rejuvenated Tim Hardaway Jr.

Knicks resident Leon Rose and executive vice president William Wesley now manage the Knicks and are in place to prevent what happened to Porzingis, which applied for a trade from the franchise 17 months ago.

It is difficult to imagine that Wesley would have allowed Porzingis and his agent / brother Janis to become so unhappy that they wanted to leave New York City. It is difficult to imagine that Rose and Wesley would not have made at least one trip to Latvia or Spain to visit the Porzingis brothers in the 2018 offseason once they realized the brothers’ disenchantment with the franchise.

Porzingis is back with the Mavericks now after spending much of the coronavirus pandemic in his native Latvia where the infection rate has been relatively low, according to Johns Hopkins.

Being in Latvia gave Porzingis an advantage in training in gyms that were not closed by the government, as many were closed in the United States. While the Knicks never liked Porzingis returning to Europe during the off season, it was wise to do so during the coronavirus break.

“I knew if we had the chance [to resume the season], I had to be ready physically, mentally and in every other aspect, so I was always ready, “Porzingis told reporters during a conference call on Saturday in his first remarks after the arrest.” I feel very well physically, super excited. Mentally, there I was able to take care of the little things that was going on and I’m very excited to be back on the field. Hopefully everything works and we can enjoy some basketball. “

Kristaps Porzingis
Kristaps PorzingisNBAE via Getty Images

As of Sunday, Latvia had 1,122 positive coronavirus cases (0.059 percent of the population) and 30 deaths caused by the disease, according to Johns Hopkins.

Porzingis is no stranger to layoffs, having broken a 20-month layoff to rehabilitate his torn ACL in the past two years.

“Now I know what works and what doesn’t work for me,” said Porzingis. “(I’m) trying to find the optimal shape I need to be able to play at the highest level and feel the best I can on the field. The extra time gave us all more time to recover from the little things that are all happening. “

Porzingis, the Knicks’ fourth choice in the 2015 draft, was the original “unicorn”, as voiced by Kevin Durant. It is a solid 3-point shooter, which will only develop an internal game. He is also a robust shot shooter and is only 24 years old.

The Knicks failed to transform the roof space they opened by swapping Porzingis and Hardaway into another All-Star, while acquired guard guard Dennis Smith Jr. has so far been a disappointment. These bankruptcies probably played a role in the fact that Steve Mills was fired as president in February.

The best part of the roundup were the two future round-rounds that the Knicks received from Dallas, both of which could be used by Rose in an exchange for an extraordinary one like Porzingis.

Porzingis has shown flashes of celebrity this season. When Luka Doncic sprained his ankle during the winter, Porzingis’ numbers increased. In 12 games from January 31 to March 4, Porzingis averaged 27.8 points, 11 rebounds and 2.3 blocks, firing 50 percent. Doncic was halfway out of that stretch.

Mavs and former Knick Derek Harper told The Post during the Dallas pandemic that they would win at least one title alongside Doncic and Porzingis. Porzingis has averaged 19.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks this season, which is expected to resume later this month in Orlando, Florida, without the Knicks.

“We don’t want to try to go too far,” said Porzingis. “But I think all of our mental attitudes are that we are a dangerous team and I think we can surprise people.”

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