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Report: Knicks part ways with assistant who was close to Porzingis

Jim McIsaac / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The relationship between Kristaps Porzingis and the New York Knicks may have hit another road bump, as the New York Daily News' Stefan Bondy reports the Knicks won't bring back assistant coach Josh Longstaff, who is known to be close with New York's Latvian phenom.

According to Bondy, Porzingis thought so highly of Longstaff - who trained Porzingis overseas last year - that he requested Longstaff serve as an assistant coach for the Latvian national team. Now the 34-year-old won't even be part of Porzingis' NBA experience.

Longstaff, a holdover from Derek Fisher's coaching staff, was involved in player development for the Knicks after serving as a player development coach in Oklahoma City.

Despite the fact that Knicks players reportedly openly rebelled against the triangle offense, the organization is now even more committed to the offensive system Phil Jackson found success with in Chicago and Los Angeles, though it's impossible to know what impact the triangle had on the decision not to renew Longstaff's contract.

After a sensational rookie campaign, Porzingis enjoyed only moderate development as a sophomore, due at least in part to the acquisitions of veteran center Joakim Noah and high-usage guard Derrick Rose, as well as Achilles, leg, and ankle injuries.

Following another season of disappointment at Madison Square Garden, Porzingis skipped his exit meeting with Jackson, prompting rival teams to inquire about the 21-year-old's availability.

Earlier this month, Porzingis claimed his Twitter account had been hacked after a random tweet about the Los Angeles Clippers appeared, and just this week it was reported that Porzingis' brother - who also works as the big man's agent - had an ultimately fruitless meeting with Jackson.

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