New York Knicks big men Kristaps Porzingis (L) and Kyle O'Quinn. (Photo : Getty Images)
New York Knicks' prized rookie Kristaps Porzingis continues to show promise of a future superstar at the Big Apple, which perhaps might have turned unbelieving fans into believers 21 games into the season.
As a team, the Knicks are still much less to be desired, though, settling at the 11th spot in an arguably weaker Eastern Conference with a 10-11 record, but their recent performances were noticeably a huge improvement from last season.
Going back to Porzingis, the 20-year-old Latvian is currently averaging 14.0 points and 9.2 rebounds per game in almost 28 minutes a night, even shooting an impressive 35 percent from three-point range as a 7-foot-3 rookie center.
ESPN reported that Porzingis has been an integral part of Derek Fisher's rotation as New York have outscored its opponents by 2.9 points per 100 possessions when he is on the court. Off the court, the Knicks are the opposite, getting outscored 9.4 points per 100 possessions.
Steadily, but surely, the Baloncesto Sevilla standout is becoming the Knicks' second option on offense behind Carmelo Anthony and he seems quite confident about the responsibility.
During their 99-87 victory over the Sixers last week, Porzingis carried the team in the final quarter with Anthony having a bad night "battling an illness", scoring a team-high 17 points and hauling down 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season, which is the "sixth highest total in the NBA" so far.
However, Sports World Report noted that Porzingis' rise is pushing some of the young veterans in the team's roster on the trading block and one of them is three-year pro Kyle O'Quinn.
Bleacher Report said that the undersized center is "not even the fifth guy" in the team's frontcourt depth chart, which means there is nothing to expect from him.
Right now, the 6-foot-10 former Orlando Magic player is playing just a little over 12 minutes per game, averaging 4.2 points and 4.1 rebounds on 42 percent field goal shooting.
The report mentions that Quinn provides "rim protection, passing and spacing up front", traits that can be valuable for some teams in immediate need of improvement in such aspects of the game.
A package including Jose Calderon for an upgrade at the point guard spot might work well for the Knicks at the moment.
