Kristaps Porzingis still hasn't talked to Knicks, didn't ask if he could play for Latvia

Sounds like the Knicks need to figure out what's going on with their star forward

Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks have already alienated one star, and if they're not careful they might do the same to another.

Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis said Monday that he still hasn't spoken to anyone from the team since the season ended April 12. Porzingis spoke at a press conference in Latvia, where he announced he will play for the Latvian national team in the European championships -- a decision he did not clear with the Knicks.

"To be honest, I don't want to comment on anything that happened at the season's end," Porzingis said, according to the New York Post. "Personally I did not have any contact with anybody from the club [since the season ended], so … better that Janis comment on this."

Janis is Porzingis' older brother and is also one of his agents. He commented on Kristaps not getting permission from the Knicks to play for Team Latvia.

"It's always a player's decision, it's Kristaps' decision," Janis Porzingis said. "Obviously it's harder during the first couple years in the league, but after that you decide things on your own. And Kristaps is in a position to do that."

Porzingis reportedly has been frustrated with the direction of the Knicks, and particularly with Jackson's comments about teammate Carmelo Anthony. Jackson met with the media two days after the regular season ended, and said that he feels that Anthony "will be better off somewhere else."

The comment drew the ire of the players association and apparently rubbed Porzingis the wrong way. The 7-foot-3 versatile forward, often referred to as a "unicorn," refused to comment on why he skipped his exit meeting with the Knicks after the season, saying, "I don't want to talk about what happened between me and the club" twice during the press conference.

With Anthony aging and perhaps on his way out of New York, Porzingis is now clearly the Knicks' franchise player, so it would behoove the front office to figure out what's going on with him. Porzingis told a Latvian magazine that he wants to play his entire career with the Knicks, but also mentioned that he values winning above everything else.

Without some major moves or selecting a legitimate star in June's draft, it doesn't appear the Knicks are going to win any time soon. So the way the team handles Porzingis, who has two years left on his rookie contract, will be crucial to their future.