New York Knicks: The foundation has already been laid

The Franchise Player: Found

The single most difficult task of rebuilding is finding a legitimate franchise player. There are many high-quality talents who are masquerading as such, but acquiring a star who can legitimately lead the team into the future is a nearly impossible task.

One of the few teams that has managed to acquire a player with that genuine superstar potential just so happens to don the orange and blue.

Kristaps Porzingis still has flaws that he must address, but that can be said of any 22-year-old in any sport. Even as a player who’s believed to be too thin and unrefined offensively, he’s emerged as one of the best young players in the NBA.

That much was firmly established when Porzingis was selected to his first career All-Star Game appearance in 2017-18.

It’s further supported by the fact that, if games played weren’t a qualifier, he’d rank No. 1 in the NBA in blocks per game and opponent field goal percentage at the rim, and No. 18 in scoring. In other words: Porzingis is dominating defensively and scoring at a top-20 level.

There are many well-rounded players in the NBA, but those who can provide elite defense and score at a high level are tough to find.

With Porzingis on the roster, the Knicks have one of those very few players. How he’ll return and recover from the knee injury that currently has him sidelined is certainly a fair question, but if he’s proven anything, it’s that his work ethic is powerful.

As a young and spry athlete who’s surrounded by the people who got him to where he is today, Porzingis deserves our optimism.