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Knicks coach Kurt Rambis would prefer Kristaps Porzingis to skip playing for Latvia in Olympics

WASHINGTON — The Latvian national basketball team will play in a win-or-go-home tournament this July in Belgrade, Serbia, the result of which will determine whether Latvia gets to send a team to the Summer Olympics in Brazil.

And, if Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis has his way, they will be playing without their best player. Instead of playing for his country, Kristaps Porzingis will be busy lifting weights and working on his conditioning in Greenburgh, N.Y.

“If I had my choice, I think it’s obviously what I would want,” Rambis said Friday after the Knicks’ practice at Georgetown University.