Knicks Links: Ping-pong ball fallout edition

What a trying few days to be a Knick fan. But then again, is there any other way for us?

I wish there was some more fun stuff to share today, but most of the links today are depressing. So I’m going with some easy listening today to numb the brain while you read the links:

Abra-Knickdabra! Here’s some links

— Marc Berman of the NY Post writes that the Knicks slipping to 7th in draft order Tuesday could mean that Frank Ntilikina becomes a target for them at that spot.

— Frank Isola of the NY Daily News writes that Kristaps Porzingis may not have gone about it entirely the right way, but he has indeed sent a message to the Knicks’ front office. Kind of a standard grumble grumble Isola column, but he ends pretty poignantly:

But Porzingis has seen it every day for two years now and he’s had it. The skinny kid from Latvia is willing to do what 99.9 percent of MSG employees, including Carmelo Anthony, wouldn’t dream of doing; he challenged Jackson and by extension Dolan.

That counts for something.

— Along the same vein, Mike Vaccaro of the Post writes that Phil must look to mend fences with Porzingis this offseason, much like Pat Riley did with Patrick Ewing in the early ’90s. This was actually a very nice piece, read this one if nothing else from this post, especially if (like me) you’re too young to really have an appreciation for the Ewing-era Knicks.

— Sean Deveney of Sporting News talked to a number of NBA execs about Carmelo Anthony and his trade value after the Phil/Melo beef of the past year. And, well, let’s just say that a pretty picture is not painted:

"Well, for one thing, if he waives the no-trade, you know he is going to be OK with coming (to his new team)," a Western conference executive said. "He is not going against his will. And look at it, everyone has the Knicks over a barrel. They’re just desperate to move the guy. You are not going to have to give up much of anything to get him, just make the salaries match."

— The Bergen Record is, collectively, not a big fan of Phil Jackson—Steve Popper writes about how Jeff Hornacek is not much more than Phil Jackson’s coaching meat shield, while Tara Sullivan questions Phil’s methods of running the team.

— Also in “disliking Phil Jackson” news, I present Stephen A. Smith.

— So, on the Melo/La La front... Melo either knocked up a stripper, or didn’t knock up a stripper but would lie about being married, depending on who you choose to believe. Or, if you choose to believe former Knick James White, none of that happened:

— Speaking of former Knicks, Israeli league player and All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire won the MVP of the Israeli All-Star game:

That’s all I got for today, folks! Today in non-Knick discussion topics, let’s talk about food. I’m hoping for favorite recipes today, or you can just talk about your favorite thing you’ve had recently. And of course, try to be nice!