Porzingis Unicorn #3 Thread

[N8isScofield]

he still looks like hes going to be pushed around by guards next year. Was hoping he'd wise up and hire a real coach, except he's still using his brother for everything.

I dunno. I'm seeing him work on his low center of gravity by strengthening his body with a lot of squats. You don't want to push him too hard because that's what the Sixers did with both Embiid and Simmons.

KP has already played more games than the last 3 Sixer draft picks combined.

Letting a kid grow into his body gradually is the name of the game.

Sure I agree with that. But you look at the progress guys like Giannis and Gobert made to their bodies entering the 3rd year of their careers and you start to wonder if he'll ever be able to develop the body needed at the NBA level. He's made improvements sure, but I've been dissapointed at the progress, and I do wonder if part of it is not having the right team around him in the offseason. It's not like KP hasn't had his share of injury woes during his first 2 seasons either.

What he looks like is not the defining inclination of his strength. His naked form could satisfy whatever progress you think his body should have made by now aesthetically and he still could be weak. Or he might not appeal to whatever ideal it is that you have for him aesthetically and his strength may be vastly improved. Nobody that actually understands the process of building strength is worried about what he looks like. The proof will be right out there on the court for all to see, no nudes needed.

[Greenie]

well with melo staying and drug abuser suspended he needs to bulk up to play center.

and dont tell me 2nd round pick no defense playing 6'9 hernangomez is going to start at center.

Well at least he can guard the post, which is his strength. Hopefully Melo will close out on shooters this year, and won't push KP to guard the wing as much.

Melo will be much better guarding PF's he can keep up with those guys defensively.

[Sark]

well with melo staying and drug abuser suspended he needs to bulk up to play center.

and dont tell me 2nd round pick no defense playing 6'9 hernangomez is going to start at center.

Well at least he can guard the post, which is his strength. Hopefully Melo will close out on shooters this year, and won't push KP to guard the wing as much.

Melo will be much better guarding PF's he can keep up with those guys defensively.

Good. I have no reason not to expect 50+ wins this year.

[el13adnino]

Well at least he can guard the post, which is his strength. Hopefully Melo will close out on shooters this year, and won't push KP to guard the wing as much.

Melo will be much better guarding PF's he can keep up with those guys defensively.

Good. I have no reason not to expect 50+ wins this year.

Melo stays
Frank is ROY
KP takes the next step
Willy establishes himself as a starter

[Greenie]

Well at least he can guard the post, which is his strength. Hopefully Melo will close out on shooters this year, and won't push KP to guard the wing as much.

Melo will be much better guarding PF's he can keep up with those guys defensively.

Good. I have no reason not to expect 50+ wins this year.

I didn't say all of that.

[Sark]

Melo will be much better guarding PF's he can keep up with those guys defensively.

Good. I have no reason not to expect 50+ wins this year.

I didn't say all of that.

I didn't say you did. But expectations will be high this year. No more excuses.

[method]

Willy is 6'11"

[Paija]

I dunno. I'm seeing him work on his low center of gravity by strengthening his body with a lot of squats. You don't want to push him too hard because that's what the Sixers did with both Embiid and Simmons.

KP has already played more games than the last 3 Sixer draft picks combined.

Letting a kid grow into his body gradually is the name of the game.

Sure I agree with that. But you look at the progress guys like Giannis and Gobert made to their bodies entering the 3rd year of their careers and you start to wonder if he'll ever be able to develop the body needed at the NBA level. He's made improvements sure, but I've been dissapointed at the progress, and I do wonder if part of it is not having the right team around him in the offseason. It's not like KP hasn't had his share of injury woes during his first 2 seasons either.

What he looks like is not the defining inclination of his strength. His naked form could satisfy whatever progress you think his body should have made by now aesthetically and he still could be weak. Or he might not appeal to whatever ideal it is that you have for him aesthetically and his strength may be vastly improved. Nobody that actually understands the process of building strength is worried about what he looks like. The proof will be right out there on the court for all to see, no nudes needed.

Well, you should keep in mind that people from Northern Europe develop later than for example from South Europe (and I suspect that people with African heritage develop even earlier). It is always the case that Latvians or Lithuanians U-16 look like children while some Greek or Turkey players already look like men. Look at the beards of some rookies like Jaylen Brown for example. So you should be patient in this respect. If after KP is 23-24 he is still very skinny, then it is clear he will stay like that. I remeber U19 Lithuanian team with Jonas Valanciunas - he was very hot prospect, but now- apparently Raptors did something wrong with his development.

[thebuzzardman]

Sure I agree with that. But you look at the progress guys like Giannis and Gobert made to their bodies entering the 3rd year of their careers and you start to wonder if he'll ever be able to develop the body needed at the NBA level. He's made improvements sure, but I've been dissapointed at the progress, and I do wonder if part of it is not having the right team around him in the offseason. It's not like KP hasn't had his share of injury woes during his first 2 seasons either.

What he looks like is not the defining inclination of his strength. His naked form could satisfy whatever progress you think his body should have made by now aesthetically and he still could be weak. Or he might not appeal to whatever ideal it is that you have for him aesthetically and his strength may be vastly improved. Nobody that actually understands the process of building strength is worried about what he looks like. The proof will be right out there on the court for all to see, no nudes needed.

Well, you should keep in mind that people from Northern Europe develop later than for example from South Europe (and I suspect that people with African heritage develop even earlier). It is always the case that Latvians or Lithuanians U-16 look like children while some Greek or Turkey players already look like men. Look at the beards of some rookies like Jaylen Brown for example. So you should be patient in this respect. If after KP is 23-24 he is still very skinny, then it is clear he will stay like that. I remeber U19 Lithuanian team with Jonas Valanciunas - he was very hot prospect, but now- apparently Raptors did something wrong with his development.

Hmm, interesting point. Sh*t, where I went to school in NYC, some of those greek kids looked like they needed to start shaving their backs in middle school!

[Johnny Firpo]

If you want a cautionary tale about what happens when a center bulks up too quickly, look at Jonas. They messed his career up, same with Bargnani when he came over. KP looks fantastic, lean muscles and improved core strength. He is 7'3 with great mobility for that height, you don't want to mess that up. Also, why would anyone want to turn him into a traditional center? Let him be the next Dirk for eff's sake. That's his game, that's how he is going to become a superstar. Sure you add a little this and that to it, but that should remain his bread and butter.

[Cookies4Life]

If you want a cautionary tale about what happens when a center bulks up too quickly, look at Jonas. They messed his career up, same with Bargnani when he came over. KP looks fantastic, lean muscles and improved core strength. He is 7'3 with great mobility for that height, you don't want to mess that up. Also, why would anyone want to turn him into a traditional center? Let him be the next Dirk for eff's sake. That's his game, that's how he is going to become a superstar. Sure you add a little this and that to it, but that should remain his bread and butter.

That's the thing with most Center prospects- they're very raw and take years to build up an inside game. KP came into the league with a pretty polished offensive game already (given his age,) and while it would be nice for him to be an inside-outside threat, the team is better off actually highlighting his current skillset while adding elements to his repertoire slowly.

Based off his lack of overall strength, I have a hard time believing he'll evolve into a full time Center. And there's nothing wrong with that at all, him and Hernangomez can make a formidable 4-5 pairing for the next 10 years as long as both men continue to improve their overall games. Willy has the size, skill and strength to play the 5 full time, it's just his defense and lateral movement needs drastic improvement.

[KnicksGadfly]

If you want a cautionary tale about what happens when a center bulks up too quickly, look at Jonas. They messed his career up, same with Bargnani when he came over. KP looks fantastic, lean muscles and improved core strength. He is 7'3 with great mobility for that height, you don't want to mess that up. Also, why would anyone want to turn him into a traditional center? Let him be the next Dirk for eff's sake. That's his game, that's how he is going to become a superstar. Sure you add a little this and that to it, but that should remain his bread and butter.

Yea, I agree with that. If KP can become efficient with his shooting, I'm okay with him not being in the post as much. However, he does need to learn how to abuse the midgets they send to guard him.

[MartinsLusis]

I think KP is going to be all business when he comes back to the Knicks. No smiles. Short to the point. A ripped machine ready to be the focal point and feeding all the other parts of the team BUT 1 toe out the door.

he still looks like hes going to be pushed around by guards next year. Was hoping he'd wise up and hire a real coach, except he's still using his brother for everything.

His brother only trains him basketball stuff. The strength training is being run by 2 professionals. I heard somewhere that 1 of them was on Shaq's training staff as well but that may not be true.

[MartinsLusis]

Yup. I won't be surprised at all if he gets hurt this year. Just have to hope it's nothing serious.

I don't think he's added too much weight to make injuries more likely.

He's bulking up. Look at the pictures. His joints might not be able to sustain the new weight. Even 10 pounds could be enough to cause an injury.

I don't know what he's doing to strengthen his joints, so I don't want to speculate on that, but just saying I wouldn't be surprised.

He's still at 238-240 lbs. He's gotten stronger, has much more muscle definition but is still about the same weight. He was standing on a scale in one of the recent videos and he measured at 108 kg which is about 238 lbs.

[MartinsLusis]

I dunno. I'm seeing him work on his low center of gravity by strengthening his body with a lot of squats. You don't want to push him too hard because that's what the Sixers did with both Embiid and Simmons.

KP has already played more games than the last 3 Sixer draft picks combined.

Letting a kid grow into his body gradually is the name of the game.

Sure I agree with that. But you look at the progress guys like Giannis and Gobert made to their bodies entering the 3rd year of their careers and you start to wonder if he'll ever be able to develop the body needed at the NBA level. He's made improvements sure, but I've been dissapointed at the progress, and I do wonder if part of it is not having the right team around him in the offseason. It's not like KP hasn't had his share of injury woes during his first 2 seasons either.

What he looks like is not the defining inclination of his strength. His naked form could satisfy whatever progress you think his body should have made by now aesthetically and he still could be weak. Or he might not appeal to whatever ideal it is that you have for him aesthetically and his strength may be vastly improved. Nobody that actually understands the process of building strength is worried about what he looks like. The proof will be right out there on the court for all to see, no nudes needed.

Yeah. Some of the strongest dudes I know don't appear strong at all.

[gavran]

Without the full picture, I can't PS a toilet below him.

[verysalt]

Ha, finally i found why KP is unicorn:
http://www.foxsports.com/nba/story/new-york-knicks-kristaps-porzingis-embracing-unicorn-nickname-121516

[Jalen Bluntson]

He's a bitch.

[thebuzzardman]

Willy is 6'11"

It's not right so many are trying to shrink Willy

[Wolfgang630]

Willy is 6'11"

It's not right so many are trying to shrink Willy

Willy Wonka