The Knicks got rid of one player development coach and Kristaps Porzingis confidant in Josh Longstaff, but they’re keeping another. Dave Bliss will be retained by the team, according to a league source.
The pair had been instrumental in tutoring the 21-year-old Porzingis, but Longstaff’s contract wasn’t renewed. It was an eyebrow-raising move by the dysfunctional Knicks considering how close he’d grown to their future franchise player. When reached by The Post, Longstaff declined comment, and the Knicks gave no reason for the move.
“I’m happy for the coaches that we have, the development coaches. They’re doing an unbelievable job with us, the young guys, working really hard. Josh [Longstaff], Dave [Bliss] — those are my guys,’’ Porzingis told USA Today recently, adding, “I’m getting better. It’s great to have coaches like that.”
Now he only has one, after a move confirmed by The Post.
Porzingis had requested Longstaff be given an assistant spot on the Latvian national team. The 34-year-old Maine native had traveled to Europe to work with Porzingis last summer, and the 7-foot-3 forward’s brother/agent Janis recently said he expected the assistant to do so again this offseason. Now that clearly won’t happen, and Janis did not return calls or emails from The Post.
The Knicks still haven’t had any direct contact with Porzingis since he skipped his end-of-season exit interviews last month and flew back to Europe. Phil Jackson did sit down with Janis recently, but that meeting accomplished little. Still, as frayed as the relationship has become between the Knicks and their budding star, at least he’ll still have Bliss on the staff.
Bliss, like Longstaff, was brought from Oklahoma City by former Knicks coach Derek Fisher. But when Fisher left, Longstaff went from a role on the bench to more of a developmental role, sitting in the second row on game night. Bliss, on the other hand, has served in a developmental capacity since arriving in 2015, and at 6-foot-10 is hands-on with Porzingis and can go against him in practice.
Bliss is the last holdover from the Fisher regime. Every other assistant has been brought in by Jackson or coach Jeff Hornacek.