> The Mavericks quietly sniffed around Porzingis’ trade market. Surgeries in both his knees had sapped much of his mobility, when Dallas’ defensive ideology was predicated on its center stalking the back line as a fearsome rim protector. Come the 2021 playoffs, Rick Carlisle, in what amounted to his final season coaching the Mavericks, often stranded Porzingis in the corners, watching Doncic pound the rock in high-screen action just like any other floor spacer on the Mavericks’ roster.
> “Luka is a generational talent. You have to put the perfect team around him to try to get the maximum out of him, you know?” Porzingis said. “I just wasn’t the right guy.”
> He’d been reduced to the priciest spot-up shooter in the league. And Porzingis still struggled under Jason Kidd. As the February 2022 trade deadline approached, Dallas began to explore its options in earnest, sources said, searching how to break Porzingis’ gargantuan salary into more useful parts to complement Doncic’s solo act.
[Source](https://sports.yahoo.com/kristaps-porzingis-once-again-looking-like-an-all-star-with-the-wizards-150050845.html)
25 comments
Say what you want about KP and his failed stint with us, he never airs dirty laundry and always comes across as a consumate pro
Such a good answer
>Come the 2021 playoffs, Rick Carlisle, in what amounted to his final season coaching the Mavericks, often stranded Porzingis in the corners, watching Doncic pound the rock in high-screen action just like any other floor spacer on the Mavericks’ roster
He was also injured in these playoffs tho lol
The ideal fit imo with Luka that’s realistic that’s not a top tier superstar is a 2 way play-making wing like Paul George or Jaylen Brown
If he stayed healthy on the mavs he would’ve been a nice compliment to Luka. He’s doing real well on Washington. He just couldn’t stay healthy in Dallas.
I think it would be hard to get Luka his second star. Maybe via trades or draft they can but they don’t have the capital right now.
Hopefully the Mavs get him one that will help them get to the next level without wasting Luka’s years (although he is pretty young.)
Aside from the 2021 Clippers series, I thought the Luka-Porzingis fit wasn’t that bad. They flashed really good potential (2020 Bubble). Tbh, the main reason it didn’t work out is bc KP just couldn’t stay healthy. And so every time he’d come back from injury, he had to rebuild himself both individually and in terms of his role within the team and he never really found a good rhythm in Dallas.
It’s good to see him healthy and playing well in Washington.
This guy took way too much heat as a Mav man.. He has always been a humble stand up guy.
Mavs fans know its HARD to play with Luka sometimes. You likely won’t get a lot of touches to get in rhythm. This paired with KP’s tough injury luck just led to it not working out.
I’ll always be a KP fan!
KP has been so respectful and well-spoken from every interview I’ve come across of him. Rooting for the guy
Very mature take. It’s still weird that Luka couldn’t make it work with an 11 foot tall shooter as a second option, but then again, it’s not like their current roster is that much better than what they had with KP. I think that the trade was still probably a net negative for the Mavs seeing as Davis Bertans has proven himself not to be a NBA quality player and getting Dinwiddie probably contributed to the decision to let Brunson walk. I like Christian Wood for them but this whole “let’s not start our second best player” experiment doesn’t look like something a championship caliber team would do
He started looking like the right guy. He just couldn’t be relied to stay on the floor consistently to keep that chemistry with Luka. That bubble run was a glimpse of what could have been with the duo. Unfortunately he got hurt in the playoffs and missed a couple of months to start the season after. I’ll still root for him though even if it didn’t work out. He was always very professional with his interviews, eventhough there were probably times he could have been frustrated with his end as a Mav. Hoping this is the year he stays healthy.
Mavs net rating from 2020-2022:
* Luka and KP ON: +1.5
* Luka ON, KP OFF: +5.3
* KP ON, Luka OFF: +5.3
The real issue wasn’t the fit, it was the health
Got nothing but appreciation and respect for KP
Really wish his health had allowed him to contribute all he’s capable of during his time in Dallas.
I hope he’s able to stay healthy and realize his potential
Luka’s usage rate is ridiculous this year at 37.7%. That’s going to have to come down by at least 3 to 4 percentage points before they have a chance at a title. Luka has more seasons above 35% than MJ who didn’t win a title until he dropped below 33%. A team can’t have one player hold the ball that much and win titles, no matter who’s around them. That being said, KP was never healthy enough for the Mavs to build an offense around the two of them.
Porzingis was a good fit he just couldn’t stay healthy. But he’s basically brook lopez on steroids when he’s healthy minus any post game.
I dont watch much Mavs but can someone explain to me how they had Luka who was already a top 10 player in the league on a rookie contract but ended up surrounding him with undrafted bums despite all the cap space? Can’t imagine how incompetent you have to be to pull that off
I would never blame them for trying.
I would have made that trade every time. He just kept getting injured
When he was healthy it was easily a 1-2 duo
That’s a very mature response
Miss u big guy
Seems more humble & mature than he used to be
KP is such a solid dude. Hope he finds success in Washington.
As a Wizards fan i had only negative thoughts about KP because he’s always injured but it’s good to see him thriving in DC. Wish we had a better roster around him, Kuz, and Beal 🙁
Honesty is refreshing
Luka is phenomenal, but I’m shedding no tears for him. Harden in his prime in Houston and Westbrook in his prime in OKC were carrying this same type of load at a supreme MVP level for years. Some of this has to fall on Luka’s extreme ball dominance.