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Knicks Media Day recap: the good, the bad, and the hard nipples

Wait, and the what now?

By Alex Wolfe
NBA: New York Knicks-Media Day Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Among all of the Knicks media days in recent memory, the 2018 edition was trending towards being one of the more boring ones. The Knicks held a town hall and a press conference with management last week, and many of the players echoed the same sentiments of “we’re building something here, youth, CULTURE, etc.” during today’s Media Day.

Well, that is, until Enes Kanter stole the show at the end. But let’s start at the beginning:

Kristaps Porzingis

The Unicorn is back! Yes, the Knicks led with their All-Star, inarguably still the player with the most gravitas on the team despite the stable of other exciting youngsters on the roster.

The elephant in the room was whether KP would give a rough timetable for his return from ACL surgery. In short: no, and he’ll be ready when he’s ready. Also, just take a moment to look at how very buff our son has gotten since February:

Porzingis is eligible to sign a five-year extension before the start of the regular season, but due to cap implications, that’s not entirely likely to happen until next summer. KP echoed as much when asked about it, which is (I think) his first public comments on the matter:

That was about it as far as interesting info regarding Porzingis. I think he was asked about a potential return date about 20 times, and gave roughly the same answer every time. But while KP was wrapping up, look who showed up to the party:

Kevin Knox

So what’s up with Kev? Of course, you probably already learned everything that you could ever need to know about the rook from Chiniqua’s exclusive interview last week, but he had a few interesting nuggets to offer today as well:

Damn right there’s not! Knox also has some potentially lofty (but realistic) goals set out for himself this season:

Knox also talked a little about the adjustment to the NBA, and any advice he’s gotten from John Calipari or other Kentucky basketball alums. Honestly, pretty run-of-the-mill stuff and not much that you haven’t heard from him before. Also, it’s always nice to see the guys boosting each other up:

Tim Hardaway Jr.

Timmy! Despite the fact that it’s kind of uncomfortable to admit, this guy is our de facto star player until either Knox shows he’s ready for that load or Porzingis comes back. So what he says is probably kind of important! And luckily, he seems to really be embracing the role of “the vet” on the team, despite being relatively young himself:

Frank Ntilikina

Much like Kristaps, Frank came back from summer vacation looking yolked:

Other than his general yolkedness, Frank didn’t have too many new things to share with the class.

All I know is, I may be in the minority, but I like the blonde tips and hope they’re here to stay! Also, Frank and Mario Hezonja have what I’m sure will be everyone’s favorite Knick bromance this year:

The best of the rest

Look, I love all the rest of the players too, but I’m sure you’re all antsy for the big Kanter reveal, so I’ll just lump Courtney Lee, Lance Thomas, Hezonja, Trey Burke and Emmanuel Mudiay’s highlights together:

Ok, on to the main event...

Enes Kanter

Welcome to the 2018-19 New York Knicks season!

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