The Kristaps Porzingis train is running full steam ahead as the rookie continues to be a driving force for the New York Knicks. Anyone who was booming the power forward following his name being called in the NBA Draft has likely changed their tune as Porzingis is looking like a star in the making. Forcing veterans to the bench, Porzingis is giving a lot of credit for his success to Carmelo Anthony.
Remember those reports that Anthony was upset that Porzingis was the player drafted this year? Those are proving to be incredibly false as the rookie told the media that Anthony helped in his transition into the NBA and he credits a lot of his success to the franchise star.
"He's going to lead this organization long after I'm retired," Anthony said, via Newsday.com. "Hopefully we can hoist one or two [championship trophies] before that happens. I'm here to help him and use my experience and help him get his feet wet, and he's doing a pretty good job. He's doing a good job on his own. Learning the game and getting a feel for the game. You can see each game he's getting better."
Porzingis was not predicted to be a starter entering the season. That job was supposed to go to Derrick Williams. However, now the Knicks cannot afford to take Porzingis off the court which is leaving Williams on the bench and he is not thrilled about it. Williams signed a two-year contract as Phil Jackson stressed the forward simply needed an opportunity to shine. Now he is not getting that as the Knicks could aim to try and trade Williams as he falls out of favor in the rotation.
"I want to get out there and play. That's the reason I'm here," Williams said, via the New York Post. "I don't really know what happened (Wednesday) though. Like I said, you can't really control that. That's up to the coaching staff. At the same time it does get frustrating when I know I can help. We have more games, man. We got to sacrifice a little bit. We went on a little win streak. So you don't want to complain when you're winning. It just makes you look like a bad individual."
Right now, the Knicks are content running a rotation that is mainly Porzingis, Lance Thomas and Lou Amundson. Kyle O'Quinn joins Williams on the bench. That might not stand as the season progresses, but for now the Knicks are satisfied with the amount of minutes everyone is getting.
