The New York Knicks suffered a devastating blow last season when their star big man Kristaps Porzingis went down with a torn ACL in early February. Going up for a dunk during a game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Porzingis landed awkwardly and needed to be helped to the locker room,
As expected following the diagnosis and surgery, Porzingis will not be ready for the start of the season. During Knicks media day on Monday, Porzingis offered an update on his knee, saying that while it feels good and he's resumed on-court activities, there's no timetable for his return.
Kristaps Porzingis says he's doing some basketball drills but there's no timetable for his return.
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) September 24, 2018
Additionally, Porzingis noted everyone involved is taking a conservative approach to his recovery. Furthermore, he said he enjoyed spending time with David Fizdale when the team's new coach visited Latvia in the offseason.
Again, this wasn't really a surprise, and it's wise for the Knicks to be taking a conservative, long-term outlook to Porzingis' recovery. Even if he was healthy for this season, this team wasn't going to be all that good, so there's no reason to risk anything by rushing him back.
With the cap space they have next summer, and their plans to sign a big-name free agent, they need Porzingis healthy moving forward. Speaking of that cap space, perhaps the more interesting news about Porzingis is that the team is not planning to offer him the $158 million extension he's eligible for. Of course they want to re-sign him, but doing so now, rather than in the summer would eat up some of that vital cap room.
