On Monday, former New York Knicks darling Kristaps Porzingis offered a definitive timetable for his return from his fateful ACL tear in 2018.
Kristaps Porzingis’ ACL tear was a seminal moment in the former New York Knicks’ career. It ended his 2017-18 season prematurely and cast doubt over his 2018-19 season as well.
Despite the muddled message while he was with the Knicks, Porzingis made it clear on Monday that the plan has always been to sit out the entire 2018-19 season as he recovers from his ACL injury.
“That was the plan from the beginning, and we’re sticking to the plan,” Porzingis said to Marc Berman of the New York Post. “Twenty months of not playing, I honestly expect some rust, [but] I’m a guy who visualizes a lot, how I play and watch a lot of film. Hopefully I’ll be quickly back to my rhythm and feel the game again.”
It was never completely clear what the plan for Porzingis was in New York. The organization always seemed to allude to the idea that Porzingis would sit out the entire season, but there were mixed messages.
Most notably, Porzingis was not happy with head coach David Fizdale when he downplayed his rehab progress way back in November.
Furthermore, the Porzingis was not around the team much so there was always some confusion regarding his situation. He didn’t interact directly with the media often and there was never a definitive statement regarding his return like on Monday afternoon in Dallas.
The two sides have engaged in their fair share of mudslinging since the divorce, but Porzingis is (finally) attempting to take the high road and move on. He spoke about the need to move on and look toward the future.
“Right now the situation is what it is,” Porzingis said. “I would rather just focus on what’s ahead of me than looking back. There might be a time when I go into more detail about that situation, but right now I just want to focus on my new team: the Dallas Mavericks.”
The press conference introducing Porzingis in Dallas (along with Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke) was insightful despite the fact that KP wouldn’t slander his former team. While Porzingis was unable to provide clarity on what took place behind the scenes in New York, he did offer a definitive timetable for his eventual return.
