VIDEO: Kendrick Perkins Destroys Kristaps Porzingis in ESPN Knicks Coverage
By Michael Luciano
With the New York Knicks determined to free up cap space to land one of the many big 2019 free agents, Kevin Durant chief among them, they shipped off former franchise cornerstone Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks. While the trade originally made a long-suffering Knicks fan base come one step short of burning James Dolan in effigy, they gradually came down from the ledge as it looked more and more likely that the Knicks were landing a big fish free agent. Kendrick Perkins continued to pile on Porzingis following the draft on Friday, claiming there were '20 guys' he'd take over him.
Kendrick Perkins with some harsh words on Kristaps Porzingis:
— Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSchool) June 21, 2019
“He is a diva to the max. I can name 20 guys that I would take over him right now”
Perk agrees with @DarthAmin that the Knicks made the right decision to trade Porzingis.
?: @Rachel__Nicholspic.twitter.com/niRqlwMCCI
An old-school tough guy, Perkins certainly isn't holding back on a guy in Porzingis who he thinks is a bit of a prima donna.
When he's healthy, Porzingis is as deadly a big man as there is in the league, as evidenced by his 22.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game during an All-Star season in 2017. The problem, or rather one of the several that have been attached to Porzingis lately, is the fact that we haven't seen him play in a year and a half.
His durability issues and a demeanor that some have deemed petulant would have been enough, but his off-court antics, the most troubling of which includes a rape allegation that has not been completely diffused, made Knicks fans eager to see their Latvian unicorn shipped off to Dallas.
He was good here but fans overrated him so much. I got ridiculed several times for suggesting that Jokic was better. Glad that Knicks fans now see things my way
— Queens Is the County (@JokerOfQueens) June 21, 2019
Porzingis is a restricted free agent, but will almost assuredly end up as a Maverick once the season starts. Maybe Mark Cuban, Rick Carlisle, and the rest of Dallas will have a higher tolerance for Porzingis than the impatient Knicks.