Kristaps Porzingis will not play for the Latvian team this summer

[DaGawd]

oh my god theres gonna be a mass invasion from Latvia on this board in the coming years

[Side beard]

Hakeem is like 55 years old and Phil is 70+

This isn't 2005-2010 anymore. Lets move on.
Phil still thinks that tringle wins championships and probably will hire Rambis as HC.

Does anyone have info how much Hakeem asks for his 'magical workouts' ?

If they were so good why i haven't heard/seen Karl Towns or Anthony Davis working out with him yet?

Just think about that for a minute.

Are you really saying that a 55 year old HOFer won't be able to teach anything to a young guy just because he is 5 freaking 5?

[BaggageHandler]

Hakeem is like 55 years old and Phil is 70+

This isn't 2005-2010 anymore. Lets move on.
Phil still thinks that tringle wins championships and probably will hire Rambis as HC.

Does anyone have info how much Hakeem asks for his 'magical workouts' ?

If they were so good why i haven't heard/seen Karl Towns or Anthony Davis working out with him yet?

Just think about that for a minute.

Are you really saying that a 55 year old HOFer won't be able to teach anything to a young guy just because he is 5 freaking 5?

No. I'm saying that his methods doesn't work as efficient as people like you think and he probably asks ridicilous amount of money for them. It's just simply not worth it.

Have you ever wondered why KAT or AD doesn't work out with him?

Just because you work out with Hakeem doesn't mean you gonna get better - see Dwight. Also KP isn't a center.

[Jeff Van Gully]

Not trying to be 'that guy' or anything, but how many bigs have actually benifited from working out with Hakeem anyway?

Dwight got worse, Amare got worse, am i missing something?

Also KP in that recent Latvian interview said that his main focus is to get stronger, not necessary weight wise, although he did mention that he's at 234-236 right now and wants to be at 245ish before the season starts, that's his nr 1 priority this summer just to get stronger to be able to bang with guys like Aldridge, Valanciunas, Griffin, Vucevic ect.

I think he's skilled enough and not excatly post up type of player yet, so Hakeem isn't the best option. I doubt that KP is gonna play more than 50% of his playing time at center this upcoming season. RoLo isn't trash. Maybe next summer. But i'd much rather see him work out with Dirk whenever he retires.

Working out with Hakeem didn't make Amare worse, he made big strides in his post game. Injuries made him worse.

even dwighgt learned a couple of post moves. at least how to work a drop step and use base footwork. he had ZERO of that when he came into the league.

hakeem is only teaching post moves. and i actually haven't seen someone study with him, drop that $100k, and NOT come back with some new tricks.

[StephNYKurry]

No surprise here. Dude really needs to get stronger this offseason.

If he averages 17pts+9reb+2blks on 50-37-85 clip next season im gonna be a very happy man.

But first they need to hire a coach not named Rambis or Shaw or any other Phil's triangle whore.

The really wild part about KP is that he's already way Way WAAAAAYYYYYY ahead of schedule. If I told people last year what KP's averages were gonna be after we drafted, many of you would have put me on ignore and thought me a loon.

It just speaks to his capacity for learning, his extreme work ethic, and the prodigious gifts from above that supplement his awe inspiring skill set. I said it after the draft, but his constant improvement is the scariest thing to me. He's always getting better, so the projections don't really mean much. By October, he could be a COMPLETELY different player and shattering whatever expectations we have for him for the coming season.

17/9/2 on those averages MIGHT be conservative

[HarthorneWingo]

No, no, no. It has to be in a separate thread. Otherwise, people won't see it. That's the tradition.

I'm not going to create a separate thread because I don't think my history as a Knicks fan warrants it and because I don't remember seeing other such threads here. However, I can tell you my thoughts on some oft-discussed topics here.

I don't want the Knicks to tank and I'm sure they won't. Anyone who thinks they might are kidding themselves. They might have a losing season but it won't be because of tanking. Basketball is a sport and if you're not playing to win then you're doing it wrong. I've seen interviews with Phil and it's clear he wants to win. In yesterday's press conference, Kristaps admitted that the hardest part of last season was the stretch where they lost many games in a row. He had all kinds of depressing thoughts then and had trouble falling asleep on some nights. Fortunately his brothers helped him keep the correct perspective during that period of time. The bottom line is - the players want to win.

I hope Blatt will be the next head coach. He was my first thought as soon as I heard that Fisher was fired.

I don't want Melo to be traded. He's not playing badly and just a couple of days ago he said his goal is to retire as a Knick. Kristaps also wants him to stay and I don't see how that's bad for the team.

That's it, I think. These topics have been discussed to death in other threads so I don't want to start another discussion here, I'm just posting it as part of my "self-introduction".

Oh yes, it happens whenever we have a new poster who seems cool. If the new poster is a little behind the curve, then no one cares. But you have the Latvian connection and you're a new female poster so that's important to. It really is tradition here. Ask moocow, he's a moderator here.

[Side beard]

Hakeem is like 55 years old and Phil is 70+

This isn't 2005-2010 anymore. Lets move on.
Phil still thinks that tringle wins championships and probably will hire Rambis as HC.

Does anyone have info how much Hakeem asks for his 'magical workouts' ?

If they were so good why i haven't heard/seen Karl Towns or Anthony Davis working out with him yet?

Just think about that for a minute.

Are you really saying that a 55 year old HOFer won't be able to teach anything to a young guy just because he is 5 freaking 5?

No. I'm saying that his methods doesn't work as efficient as people like you think and he probably asks ridicilous amount of money for them. It's just simply not worth it.

Have you ever wondered why KAT or AD doesn't work out with him?

Just because you work out with Hakeem doesn't mean you gonna get better - see Dwight. Also KP isn't a center.

I don't know much about Davis and his off-season practice schedule. KAT is rookie, just like KP. Their first off-season is just ahead.
Also KP is 7'3. He have shown he can play 3-5 with no big issues. He will spend his career playing PF/C.

And

LeBron James flew to Houston and spent time working with Olajuwon.[75][76] Olajuwon has also worked with Ömer Aşık, Donatas Motiejūnas, Amar'e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, JaVale McGee and Kenneth Faried.

Lebron used to post up in Miami a lot and it worked for him well. DMo destroyed summer league couple of years ago just by using post-moves. Just because there is one guy who flat refuses to learn to become better, does not mean others are alike.

[blueNorange]

good, his worth is to the knicks and not to an irrelevant basketball team.

not taps fault that latvia sucks at creating consistent talent.

[BaggageHandler]

LeBron James flew to Houston and spent time working with Olajuwon.[75][76] Olajuwon has also worked with Ömer Aşık, Donatas Motiejūnas, Amar'e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, JaVale McGee and Kenneth Faried.

Lebron used to post up in Miami a lot and it worked for him well. DMo destroyed summer league couple of years ago just by using post-moves. Just because there is one guy who flat refuses to learn to become better, does not mean others are alike.

DMo was a good all around player even before he came to the NBA and i remember how he called the nba soft that summer playing against summer league scrubs.

But literally everyone except Melo and LeBron on that list flat out sucks.

I mean Asik is complete trash and is almost single handedly responsible why Pelicans sucked so bad this year. He averaged like 4-5ppg after signing this huge 60m contract lmao. Dude has no post moves whatsoever.

Faried is so overrated it isn't funny and i don't know where to begin. Dude destroyed some FIBA scrubs and had a good rookie year and everyone thought that he's a beast and a good defender just because he grabs rebounds and is all over the place. Truth is he's a terrible post defender almost as bad as David Lee. This year proved why he's never gonna be a top 3 player on a contender. Even a rookie Jokic flat out outplayed him.

Javele McGee is a joke of a player and everyone knows it. He might not be in the league next year. He just sucks.

And Amare is old and washed up after his injuries.

Bottom line if you suck you suck and Hakeem ain't gonna help you.

Don't get me wrong - Hakeem is one of my favorite players of all time , but his training is one of the most overrated things of all time and i have no clue why so many ppl still think it works.

[Capn'O]

Newbie called Wingo's bluff.

[NoLayupRule]

Not trying to be 'that guy' or anything, but how many bigs have actually benifited from working out with Hakeem anyway?

Dwight got worse, Amare got worse, am i missing something?

Also KP in that recent Latvian interview said that his main focus is to get stronger, not necessary weight wise, although he did mention that he's at 234-236 right now and wants to be at 245ish before the season starts, that's his nr 1 priority this summer just to get stronger to be able to bang with guys like Aldridge, Valanciunas, Griffin, Vucevic ect.

I think he's skilled enough and not excatly post up type of player yet, so Hakeem isn't the best option. I doubt that KP is gonna play more than 50% of his playing time at center this upcoming season. RoLo isn't trash. Maybe next summer. But i'd much rather see him work out with Dirk whenever he retires.

Yeah you are missing something
Everything in fact

Every player who trains with him gets better
Some, like howard or amare, might also have injury issues or age issues but that has nothing to do with how their game improved

It's actually astounding to me that you would suggest that players get worse after sessions with Hakeem

It's like you are trolling

It's so completely the opposite that it shocks me to have to defend it

[thebuzzardman]

oh my god theres gonna be a mass invasion from Latvia on this board in the coming years

You should have seen the Latvian turnout in Washington DC at the Wizards/Knicks game. They had a whole section in the nosebleeds, carrying on and chanting his name. It was great.

[thebuzzardman]

Some more things he said (source http://www.delfi.lv/sports/news/basketball/news/kristaps-porzingis-nepalidzes-latvijas-izlasei-rio-kvalifikacija-teksta-tiesraide.d?id=47386505)

- His shoulder is at 99% at the moment and will be at 100% in a week

- It's easier for him to walk the streets in Latvia than in NYC because people in Latvia are less forward and approach him less even though they recognize him

- His second season in Spain was not as good as the first one and he's aware he has to work hard in order not to let it happen in New York as well

- A Knicks coach (for physical conditioning) will join him in Latvia soon and help him with the summer workouts

- He learned the triangle very quickly and even helped teach it to some of his teammates. He thinks the triangle should be adapted to the modern basketball

- About his goals for the next season: "The fans in New York want me to have 25 points in every game and the team to win the championship (laughs). I have no set goals, I just have to do the best I can."

Thanks for posting that. What a cool summer it will be for that coach to spend in Latvia. I wonder who is flying over?

Rambis

[Apples]

No surprise here. Dude really needs to get stronger this offseason.

If he averages 17pts+9reb+2blks on 50-37-85 clip next season im gonna be a very happy man.

But first they need to hire a coach not named Rambis or Shaw or any other Phil's triangle whore.

Not only that, but maintain it. He lost half the muscle he gained last off-season.

[Jeff Van Gully]

I want KP to spend the summer with Hakeem

I'm very glad he's taking it easy and missing the national team

lord jesus. if he had some of that post instinct... god mode.

[Sakaarnis]

oh my god theres gonna be a mass invasion from Latvia on this board in the coming years

We lurkin´ allright.

[BaggageHandler]

Not trying to be 'that guy' or anything, but how many bigs have actually benifited from working out with Hakeem anyway?

Dwight got worse, Amare got worse, am i missing something?

Also KP in that recent Latvian interview said that his main focus is to get stronger, not necessary weight wise, although he did mention that he's at 234-236 right now and wants to be at 245ish before the season starts, that's his nr 1 priority this summer just to get stronger to be able to bang with guys like Aldridge, Valanciunas, Griffin, Vucevic ect.

I think he's skilled enough and not excatly post up type of player yet, so Hakeem isn't the best option. I doubt that KP is gonna play more than 50% of his playing time at center this upcoming season. RoLo isn't trash. Maybe next summer. But i'd much rather see him work out with Dirk whenever he retires.

Yeah you are missing something
Everything in fact

Every player who trains with him gets better
Some, like howard or amare, might also have injury issues or age issues but that has nothing to do with how their game improved

It's actually astounding to me that you would suggest that players get worse after sessions with Hakeem

It's like you are trolling

It's so completely the opposite that it shocks me to have to defend it

Oh really?

Wikipedia wrote:
LeBron James flew to Houston and spent time working with Olajuwon.[75][76] Olajuwon has also worked with Ömer Aşık, Donatas Motiejūnas, Amar'e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, JaVale McGee and Kenneth Faried.

How many of those players actually got better???

Literally 4/6 got worse and 1 is about to drop out of the league.

No need to defend Hakeem like he's your father or something. And no, i'm not trolling at all. I'm just stating facts.

It's like saying Phil is an elite GM just because he was a goat coach back in the day. His track record says it all as a gm.

[god shammgod]

Newbie called Wingo's bluff.

these kids nowadays. no respect for the elderly.