The New York Knicks are reportedly planning on making a few changes to its lineup in preparation for the upcoming NBA season. However, these could lead to Kristaps Porzingis getting demoted as the team's sixth man.
According to reports, Porzingis is in danger of losing his role as a starter with the Knicks due to a few factors. One of these is the team's plan of making Carmelo Anthony play stretch four or take on the power forward position.
As noted by Real GM, the logic behind this plan is rooted to the time when the Knicks won 54 games in 2013. Back then, Anthony was still a power forward.
With this in mind, it seems the team wants to use this formula again by making Anthony, who currently plays small forward, to take on his former position. However, this also means restructuring the team's lineup in order to build it around him.
Now that Derrick Rose is with New York, he and fellow point guard Lance Thomas will most likely serve as the wingmen of Anthony while the center position will be given to Joakim Noah, which could leave Porzingis in the bench.
As noted by Sportsrageous, the Knicks spent a lot of money to acquire Noah from the Chicago Bulls. Of course, with a big investment, the team will certainly look to using him more frequently on the court.
Unfortunately for Porzingis, this plan could leave him as the sixth man of the Knicks. Although he will still get sufficient playing minutes as a substitute, he will no longer be a starter.
But then again, it is not yet confirmed if the Knicks will really put Anthony as the team's power forward or if they will demote Porzingis. Doing so will be unwise since there's a big chance that leaving Latvian athlete on the bench for most parts of the game could serious hurt the team's offense and defense.
Based on stats alone, Porzingis is a more reliable player than Noah. Last season, which was his debut in the NBA, Porzingis recorded at average of 14.3 points per game. He was also able to collect 1.9 blocks and has a field goal percentage of .421. Noah, on the other hand, only averaged 4.3 points per game last season with the Bulls. Also, his field goal percentage is just .383.
