New York Knicks team president Phil Jackson has already alienated one franchise player in Carmelo Anthony, and he may well be losing the respect of Anthony's successor as well.
Kristaps Porzingis skipped his season-ending exit meeting with the Knicks due to frustration with the organization, sources told ESPN's Ian Begley.
The news came on the same day Jackson held a season-ending news conference, essentially telling media that Anthony is finished in New York. The executive and the star have butted heads for months, with Jackson looking to ultimately rebuild the Knicks around Porzingis.
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Yet the 21-year-old Latvian phenom hasn't been completely quiet about team dysfunction this season either. In February, Porzingis said the Knicks didn't trust each other enough.
While Porzingis isn't a flight risk - yet - due to his entry-level contract, it's never good when the next face of a franchise is this disillusioned with management so early in his career. With Anthony almost sure to be traded this summer, the reins of the Knicks will be placed in Porzingis' hands, a tough enough task in a tough market without the added turmoil.
Jackson, long revered as an 11-time NBA champion coach, has seen opinion of his work plummet since he became Knicks president in 2014. Turning the Anthony situation into a public fiasco hasn't reflected well on him, and even one of his former players, Scottie Pippen, has said he deserves to lose his job.
