Phil Jackson clearly likes the way Kristaps Porzingis plays and his potential otherwise he wouldn't have drafted him with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, but his comments recently paint a different picture. Jackson compared Porzingis to the 7-foot-6 bust Shawn Bradley, saying that he might be too tall for the NBA which had many Knicks fans riled up about why he would take Porzingis if he thought he would be a bust. Porzingis' thoughts on this matter are that Jackson said this as motivation to make him a better player, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.
Porzingis stands at 7-foot-1 and is extremely thin, so the comparisons on the surface make some sense, but Porzingis is working extremely hard to ensure the Bradley comparisons stop. The 20-year-old Latvian has reportedly gained 11 pounds already this offseason and is working hard on his game during team workouts. Porzingis has reportedly been playing a lot of one-on-one with Carmelo Anthony to help him improve on his defense.
"Melo is hard to guard. He's the best offensive player in the league so I have trouble with him but I think I got better from it," said Porzingis.
As for Jackson's comments, Porzingis said that they didn't make him mad at all, he instead is using it as motivation to prove people wrong.
"I guess that's what Phil does, gets guys to work hard and [get fired] up. That fired me up. 'I'm like, I'm not Shawn Bradley, you know,' he knows what he's doing. I want to be better than Shawn Bradley, obviously, and be stronger than him, but I'm a different player," said Porzingis.
The Knicks have invested the future of their franchise in Porzingis, so it must be nice to hear this kind of attitude from him. Porzingis is a guy the Knicks think can develop into an NBA superstar in a few years down the line and he is someone they want to build around. Porzingis definitely has the talent to have a successful NBA career, but it also seems like he has the type of work ethic needed to make a big impact and that shouldn't be lost in the shuffle. It can't be known if Jackson's intention when making those comments were purely motivational, but if they were, they seem to have worked as Porzingis wants to stop the Shawn Bradley comparisons as soon as possible.
