The New York Knicks, again, will miss this year's postseason. Nevertheless, fans can look forward to a brighter future after rookie Kristaps Porzingis turned out as a steal and has a legitimate chance of winning the Rookie of the Year award.
Meanwhile, star forward Carmelo Anthony is reportedly asking the management to hear him out should they decide to look for a new head coach. Currently, Kurt Rambis serves as their interim head coach but it does not mean the 31 year-old forward wants Rambis out of the Big Apple.
"I like Kurt," Anthony told ESPN. "I thought he was kind of thrown into a tough situation with the firing of [Fisher] and kind of gathering the troops, getting guys to play and finish the season up."
Anthony also said that he has no idea on what Phil Jackson's next set of plans are regarding staff changes. Regardless, he would like his input heard before they make the necessary changes.
"I would love to have some type of input when it comes to that. But like I said, nobody has had a conversation about that yet," he added.
Fortunately, Rambis can breathe a sigh of relief as rumor has it that the management likes him and are leaning towards removing the interim tag on him before the next season begins. Upon hearing the news, the 58 year-old coach was delighted and said he loves the city and franchise, but most importantly, his desire to become a legitimate head coach is what matters most, News Day reported.
"It would be fantastic," Rambis said in an interview. "I want to be a head coach in this league. This is a great franchise. It's a terrific city, fan base.
The Knicks had a great start this season, as they were even among the top eight in the Eastern Conference during the first half of the season. However, the team gradually fell off the race which caused the firing of former head coach, Derek Fisher.
Once the off-season arrives, fans can probably expect the Knicks to concentrate on their roster depth and run after prized free agents. With Anthony and Porzingis as their building blocks, it would be interesting to see if they will be able to lure key players to join their campaign when the 2016-2017 season begins.
Here are some highlights of the Latvian rookie, Kristaps Porzingis, who is going toe-to-toe with Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Karl-Anthony Towns for the Rookie of the Year award.