When a team gets the chance to draft a 7-foot-3 player, the most likely scenario is to grab it.
The New York Knicks did just that, selecting Kristaps Porzingis as the fourth overall pick in the last NBA Draft.
But will picking Porzingis be justified when a pool includes other potential players of the future like Emmanuel Mudiay or Justice Winslow? Phil Jackson seems to think so but reportedly, not Carmelo Anthony.
An ESPN report revealed that Anthony was reportedly unhappy with the selection, since there were other players that the Knicks could have gotten. Notable among the group is Mudiay, who is touted as the player of the future.
"I [was] talking to my sources last night. All they said was, he's furious, he's livid. He feels completely hoodwinked and betrayed by Phil Jackson," says ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.
That was during the earlier days after the Knicks chose Porzingis. Now, however, it seems Anthony is singing a different tune, later saying via social media that the Latvian center is actually a steal from the draft.
Porzingis didn't actually gain the approval of Knicks fans when his name was announced as the team's pick. Things aren't exactly picking off pretty well for the Latvian big man, who is reportedly coming in with a suspected hip injury, something that he got after playing for Sevilla in the rugged Spanish League.
Despite earlier reservations on whether Porzingis will be able to take part in the Summer League, it seems that the alleged injury will not keep him from strutting his wares after all.
"This is going to be the first time I showcase myself in the U.S.A.," Porzingis told the New York Times. "So for me, it's exciting. I want to get out there. I want to play, and I want to compete against those guys just to check myself: How good am I in this league?"
Apparently, Porzingis' showing could make or break Jackson's decision to draft him and perhaps gain the admiration of Anthony. On how that comes out should be known during or after the Knicks' summer league campaign.
