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New York Knicks News Mix, 6/14/17: Porzingis, Kuz Workout in Latvia

Kristaps Porzingis and Mindaugas Kuzminskas made a good team for the New York Knicks, but they’re working on their game in the offseason.

Budding star Kristaps Porzingis and veteran rookie Mindaugas Kuzminskas had excellent chemistry in Kuz’s first season in the Association.

The duo shared the court during 46 games in 2016-17 for a combined 331 minutes. Per NBA.com, they had the fifth-best net rating (2.4) of any two-man combination that appeared in 40-plus games.

Considering Kuzminskas spent most of his time playing with the second unit that’s an impressive feat. However, Porzingis did mesh well with the bench players. Arguably even more than with the starters.

The two international players decided to work on their chemistry even more during the offseason. Kuzminskas is visiting Porzingis at the latter’s camp in his hometown in Latvia.

Porzingis made news for blowing off his exit meeting and not speaking with the team before going back home to Latvia. As far as we know, he still hasn’t talked to the team. However, his role on the team is defined.

Kuzminskas was in and out of the rotation in 2016-17. He appeared in 68 games at an average of 14.9 minutes per game and posted 6.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.0 assists.

The 27-year-old showed promise from the three-point line before finishing at a below average 32.1 percent on the season.


Elite Sports NY’s Chip Murphy wrote about the ridiculousness of Phil Jackson’s triangle offense themed draft workouts.

 
I'm ESNY's Executive Editor for EliteSportsNY.com. I cover the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets. Email: chip.murphy@elitesportsny.com Chip Murphy covers the NBA for Elite Sports NY. You can find him on Twitter @ChipperMurphy.