Kristaps Porzingis burst onto the scene this season as a rookie and has become a phenomenon for the New York Knicks. While Porzingis has fallen off a little bit since his red hot start, his talent is clear and the Knicks plan to build their future around him.
It was said when Porzingis was drafted that it would take him a few years to be a good player in the league, but that has not been the case. The Knicks have always been extremely high on their rookie, but with the way he has played in his first NBA season, their expectations for him moving forward have grown exponentially.
Interim head coach Kurt Rambis is one of the people that believes Porzingis has an extraordinarily high ceiling. Many people see him as a potential future All-Star, but Rambis said he thinks that Porzingis could be the Knicks version of Draymond Green. Green, of course, is a forward for the Golden State Warriors who made his first All-Star game this season and is one of the best defenders in the league.
On the surface, this comparison makes very little sense, considering Green is an undersized power forward (6-foot-7) while Porzingis is over-sized (7-foot-3), but there are some similarities. Green is one of the most versatile players in the NBA, and Porzingis has some versatility, too. Right now, Green is a better player than Porzingis in every area of the game, but that is to be expected, considering he is 26 years old and in his fourth NBA season.
With this comparison, Rambis is setting some extremely high expectations for the 20-year-old, but that should be expected, considering the Knicks used the fourth overall pick on him last summer. Porzingis is already a solid defender and has shown the ability to shoot, but in order to be like Green, he will need to improve in those areas and also become a better playmaker.
Porzingis has a long way to go to be able to get to Green's level, but he certainly has the talent to be an All-Star type of player. The Latvian forward may never be the emotional leader that Green is, but I think that Knicks fans would settle for him being like Green on the court, as the former Michigan State Spartan is maybe the most important player on one of the best teams in NBA history.
