Bobby Portis has no pretensions he will start this season at center over 21-year-old phenom Mitchell Robinson.
Portis, the 6-foot-11 big man who signed a two-year, $31 million deal with the Knicks earlier this month, has designs on a different goal — to be the leader of what he feels will be a top-notch bench.
“I don’t care about starting or coming off the bench,” Portis told The Post in a phone interview from Los Angeles on Friday. “I envision myself being a Sixth Man of the Year candidate. Last year I was in the running at the beginning of the season, playing well.