PORTLAND — Mario Hezonja desperately wanted to be back with the Knicks — he just never got the call to return.
When the Trail Blazers gave him a take-it-or-leave-it offer on the second day of free agency this summer, Hezonja was told by his agent he should go with the Blazers, who also had wanted him the previous summer.
Hezonja was surprised Knicks general manager Scott Perry, who helped draft him in Orlando, didn’t call during free agency after team president Steve Mills told him he would.
Hezonja said he’s one of the few who absolutely embraced the aura of playing at the Garden as a Knick, and will face his old team Tuesday at Moda Center
“That free agency was ‘call me and I’m coming back (to the Knicks),'” Hezonja said Sunday night after the Blazers lost to Oklahoma City. “I don’t care (that) there’s a lot of perception people make about playing in New York. But I had never had problems with you guys (media). Media was great, always great. Everyone from the front office was great to me. Fans are the best in the world. If you don’t feel their support, what the hell? I loved every single thing about my entire time out there. It didn’t work out in the summer.”
It didn’t work out for the Knicks, either. They signed seven free agents — even giving backup big man Bobby Portis $15 million for the 2019-20 season. The new guys stumbled badly, and David Fizdale was fired Friday after a 4-18 start along with Hezonja’s favorite assistant coach, Keith Smart.
“I loved (Fizdale),” Hezonja said. “I was very connected to him. To be honest with you, even more with with Smarty, but love them both. I was shocked. I’ve been in contact with a lot of them. It blew my mind. Crazy. Unfortunate situation he has to leave. They were like my family. It’s just sad.”
Hezonja said he has kept in contact with several Knicks, especially Frank Ntilikina, whom he believes has a bright career ahead of him because of his basketball IQ. He also thinks highly of point guard Elfrid Payton, whom he played with in Orlando.
Hezonja, who is averaging 4.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in 21 games with Portland while shooting 35 percent, had two glorious moments in New York: blocking a potential game-winning shot by LeBron James to beat the Lakers and an on-court tiff with Giannis Antetokounmpo during a rare victory amid a 17-65 season.
“We had rough year, right?” Hezonja said. “With a lot of rookies, new guys. You don’t know how they’ll react. It was really rough. You don’t know who’s playing. Then you have to play Kevin (Knox), Allonzo (Trier) and Mitch (Robinson). You have to put them into the fire so we can see what we got.
“And they came into this year: I don’t know what the goal was for free agency, but you see (everyone) talking about KD and Kyrie, so that was the disappointment. And bringing in a lot of new guys. We here brought in a lot of new guys, and look at our record (9-15). It’s not that easy. (The Knicks) definitely didn’t do (Fizdale) any favors.’’
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