New York Knicks: Realistic goals for Kristaps Porzingis in 2018-19

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13 July 2018, Berlin, Germany: Kristaps Porzingis (R), power forward of the New York Knicks plays with youth players of the basketball team ALBA Berlin during a joint training session. The Latvian basketball player is currently on an advertising tour in Germany. Photo: Gregor Fischer/dpa (Photo by Gregor Fischer/picture alliance via Getty Images) /

What can Kristaps Porzingis look to achieve for the New York Knicks in the 2018-19 season?

For the second half of the 2017-18 season, the New York Knicks missed Kristaps Porzingis, following a torn ACL he suffered before the All-Star break. This hampered the team’s immediate on-court future and placed the face of the franchise’s long-term health in question.

However, there’s still a chance Porzingis returns to the court for the 2018-19 season, whenever that may be. If so, it carries some, if not many, expectations.

What can Knicks fans look forward to from Porzingis in the 2018-19 campaign? Is there something specific for him to achieve? Let’s look at five goals for him to strive for over the next seven months:

5. Sign a contract extension before the season starts

After three seasons, Kristaps Porzingis is up for a contract extension on the rookie-scale deal he signed after the 2015 NBA Draft. These last for four years, and the New York Knicks can provide a lucrative, multi-year extension to pay their face of the franchise for the foreseeable future.

Of course there’s the injury concern with Porzingis, who has not played since February and projects to come back around Christmas. Though a deal must happen before the season starts, as Hoops Rumors noted, given the Oct. 15 deadline for players to receive extensions.

It’s a risk the Knicks might have to, and maybe will, take. If not, it pushes Porzingis to restricted free agency and the ability to speak with other teams. While New York can match any offer sheet he signs, it still puts the player-team relationship on the line for 2019-20 and beyond.

This should make an extension a given before the season starts, to lock up Porzingis before it becomes a year-long distraction, even as he recovers from the sidelines.

A deal to put Porzingis through the next four years can put doubts aside and establish the Knicks’ core into the 2020s. Will it happen before Oct. 15, though? Maybe not, according to Newsday.

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