Bobby Portis has a lofty goal for his first season with the Knicks.
The former first-round pick is hopeful the Knicks will win hardware as a team despite being big underdogs heading into 2019, but he's got a personal agenda as well.
"I envision myself being a Sixth Man of the Year candidate," Portis told the New York Post." Last year I was in the running at the beginning of the season, playing well. That's in the back of my mind for sure. Naysayers will say I'm crazy. I feel it's going to come for me one day for sure. I play my role really well."
Portis, 24, averaged 14.2 points and 8.1 rebounds last year, a season he split with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards. Portis said the Knicks told him his role would be behind Mitchell Robinson on the depth chart before signing with them this summer, but that didn't matter to him.
"I don't care about starting or coming off the bench," Portis said.
"Julius [Randle] and Mitchell will probably be starting power forward and center, but we have a lot of weapons coming off the bench that will be fun to watch," Portis added. "I go out and play with a ton of passion and play the right way."
Portis' confidence in the Knicks doesn't stop at him, though. He set the bar high for the entire crew, placing them amongst the best in the entire NBA.
"I think we'll be a top-ranked [bench] after the Clippers with Lou [Williams] and Montrezl Harrell - that's pretty strong. With our bench we have really good weapons in me, Marcus [Morris], Taj [Gibson], Allonzo Trier, Wayne Ellington. The list goes on."