Report: Knicks expect Kristaps Porzingis to return this season

Kristaps Porzingis’ recovery from a torn ACL does not seem to be progressing at a rapid pace, but the team is still expecting to have him back this season.

The New York Post’s Mark Berman wrote an article published on Thursday about Porzingis and how Knicks head coach David Fizdale is handling things. Fizdale says he is no longer talking about Porzingis’ potential return to the team because he doesn’t want to let his mind run wild fantasizing about when he gets the big man back. Instead, he says he’s focusing on the players on the team’s roster and trying to do the best with what they have.

“Just mentally for me,” Fizdale said via Berman. “That’s somewhere else. I don’t want to get distracted personally as the coach, worried about if and when he’s coming back. I’d rather be focused on the day-to-day task with these guys, and when he gets back, that’ll just be a gift for me. You can get distracted as a coach, caught up in that world of when and hopefully soon and you lose focus on what you’re doing. And these guys deserve my undivided attention.”

Berman reports that the Knicks expect to have Porzingis back this season. However, he suggests that may not be imminent because Porzingis is still not sprinting and has not done more activities since training camp.

Back in September, Porzingis said he wasn’t putting any timetables on his recovery because there is no precedent for a 7-foot-3 player returning from the surgery. Porzingis should take his time and return when he feels comfortable because he’s right — there isn’t a precedent for his return — and he has a bright future that should not be jeopardized.

Porzingis suffered his injury in February. Players often take 9-12 months before returning from such injuries, but they vary from case to case.