Does Kristaps Porzingis actually exist?

Share

Draftniks' familiarity with Latvian big man Kristaps Porzingis probably goes back to at least last June, when he was just a distant figure on the horizon. He was a year away, they said, but he was intriguing enough to make a late creep up some Big Boards, and become a predictable object of lust from Hinkieheads who love nothing more than to fetishize international prospects who make the more conservative contingent of the Sixers' fanbase uncomfortable. Kristaps pulled his name from the draft, and after the Sixers picked Joel Embiid with the #3 pick — seemingly stablizing their frontcourt for the long-term — casual interest in Porzingis all but dissipated. We should have known we'd be hearing his name again before long, though.

If Kristaps Porzingis didn't exist, Hinkie would have had to invent him. He's too perfect for us; the exact balancing measure we should have expected in response to D'Angelo Russell's assumed dominance over the Sixers' draft boards. Just as Russell was the pick that seemed a little too safe and clean a fit to ever feel like the true object of Our Dark Lord's desire, Porzingis is the pick that seems too risky and counter-intuitive for the Hink to pass up.

Really, it's hard to conceive a more perfect troll move for Hinkie in this draft than taking Porzingis. A raw but talented an physically gifted big man of unclear position and unfamiliar playing background? Not to mention that he'd almost certainly overlap too closely with Embiid and Nerlens Noel for Brett Brown to try to grow all three simultaneously (unless he is, as some of have scarily started to suggest, more in the mold of Kevin Durant), and it'd probably take years to determine whether or not he was worth the risk of rolling the dice on. The only way he could be a more obvious Sixers pick would be if he was already injured for next season; which, there's still about a week to go before the draft, let's not count out the possibility just yet.

Watching the tide turn from the Sixers eyeing Russell to coveting Porzingis has carried with it the enormous and undeniable weight of inevitability. Of course Hinkie was blown away by KP in workouts, of course anonymous scouts are coming out of the woodwork to opine that hey, this guy just might be the top talent in the class!, of course the Sixers are now being projected by ESPN draft guru Chad Ford to take Porzingis at #3 in his latest mock rundown. The party line with the Sixers is that they'll always take the Best Player Available in the draft, regardless of short-term fit or productivity, but by now we know that's not true: What the Sixers really gameplan around is taking the Most Frustrating Player Available.

I'm suspicious of this too, though. I can't believe that a couple workouts have really swayed Sixers brass so much about this guy they've probably been scouting for longer than we've known he's even been alive, and if that is what happened, I can't believe Hinkie and company would be so transparent in their feelings. Combined with the news of Embiid's potential further foot woes, the timing of these rumors is just a little too on the nose. At this point, for Hinkie to take Porzingis would probably be the more predictable move than him taking Russell, and for all you can say about the man, I don't think any of us have ever known Our Dark Lord to be predictable.

I wouldn't be the first person to suggest that this recent Kristapsmania is largely a decoy meant to drive up the trade value of the #3 pick — even in his aforementioned mock, Ford mentions that at least one GM believes Hinkie is just trying to goad Orlando into trading up for the #3 pick to land Porzingis. That, to me, makes more sense — Porzingis' fit in Philly is far from seamless, but for the Magic, who have a sweet-shooting-big-sized hole (and not many others) in their lineup, it's much more of a match. At this point, if they really want KP, they can't feel comfortable enough in him still being there at #5; they'd have to deal up to #3 to be sure.

 

The versatile-if-positionless Aaron Gordon has been suggested as trade bait for the Sixers in such a deal, though it's hard to imagine Orlando dealing their top-five pick from last year just to move up two spots. But there are a couple once-Sixer prospects still behind enemy lines in Orlando — namely, point guard Elfrid Payton and tweener forward Maurice Harkless — who could be more plausible as sweeteners. A sign-and-trade with free agent swingman Tobias Harris might intrigue Philly. Evan Fournier showed some real promise at two-guard for the Magic last year. There's a future Lakers 1st-round pick swirling around for Orlando, somewhere in the ether. If they wanted to entangle the Sixers in a draft-night deal, there's no shortage of assets they could tempt Hinkie with.

They're not the only ones this makes sense for, either. The Kings at #6 could certainly use a long-term frontcourt partner to pair with (and stretch the floor for) DeMarcus Cousins, and they might be willing to part with one of their recent top-ten-selected SGs (Ben McLemore and Nik Stauskas, though the former is a lot more intriguing than the latter at this point) to do so. Same for the Nuggets at #7, who could own Eastern Europe with a Porzingis / Jusuf Nurkic frontline, and might be willing to deal disgruntled veteran point guard Ty Lawson for the privilege. The Pistons at #8... it keeps going. If KP really is the business, the Sixers' pick suddenly becomes the belle of the ball.

Point is, I've believed for a while now that the Sixers are probably best off at least trying to trade down. Unless they're over the moon about D'Angelo Russell — who apparently "killed" his workout in Philly, whatever that means — I don't think the #3 pick will be as valuable to them as it will to be to some of these other teams. I could be totally off about this, but I suspect that Russell, Porzingis, Emmanuel Mudiay and Mario Hezonja are all about equal on Hinkie and company's Big Board, all with roughly the same levels of hopes and concerns. If there's a specific player that other teams want at #3 — and Our Dark Lord seems to be doing his damnedest to ensure that player is Porzingis — then the Sixers should have no problem trading down to #5, #6, or maybe even 7-8 and just taking the one player of that quartet who's fallen to that spot. It's a good way to juice the maximum value of the pick, hopefully pump in some extra on-court talent for the season to come, and still get an elite prospect out of it. It seems like the Hinkie move.

And if they end up with Porzingis anyway, I wouldn't be shocked or particularly upset — his potential is exciting, and if Embiid is a question mark (for next year in particular), it'd be hard to think of a much better running mate for Nerlens Noel to grow alongside than ol' KP. But I won't buy that Sam Hinkie is really getting on his bullhorn to proclaim GUESS WHAT GUYS I'VE MET THE GREATEST DRAFT PROSPECT AND WE ARE IN LOOOOOOOVE just because he really, really wants to take him with the #3 pick. Yes, Virginia, there is a Kristaps Porzingis, but don't believe everything your Mommy and Daddy tell you about ol' Krist Kringle.

Contact Us