LAS VEGAS — Bobby Portis had an idea of how his free agency would unfold when he met with the Knicks in Los Angeles on the last night of June. He had been hearing since his season ended in April that the team maintained interest in him. Scott Perry, the team’s general manager, had called Portis’ agent five days earlier to set up their meeting in Los Angeles, he said.



Portis came into the summer craving to play in a big market, to play in New York and to play for a coach who would let him be himself. The Knicks had a hole in their frontcourt. When he and the Knicks gathered at an L.A. hotel, the two found agreeable terms, but even he was surprised at how quickly it all happened.



“I’m kind of happy that it did,” he said while sitting courtside at Cox Pavilion on Saturday, watching a Summer League game. “I’m (gonna) be playing in a beautiful city for the New York Knicks. That’s a dream come true.”



And,...