The Dallas Mavericks traded Kristaps Porzingis and a second rounder to the Washington Wizards last week in return for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans. It was the second-biggest deal of the entire NBA Trade Deadline, and arguably the most surprising one.
Not long after the move went public, Mavs star Luka Doncic came out and offered his unfiltered thoughts on it.
One day later came time for team owner Mark Cuban to throw his two cents into the mix.
Finally on Saturday it was Porzingis’ turn to weigh in on the deal.
“Not what everybody expected, not what I expected, but that’s what it is in this league sometimes,” he said of how his time in Dallas ended. “Luka is a great player and I wish him well. I wish him to achieve what he sets to achieve for himself.”
Porzingis then spoke about his goals moving forward.
“One is staying on the floor consistently,” he said.
“Now that I’m healthy and I’m moving well, that’s the thing I have to prove. I truly believe that my luck hasn’t been the best luck in terms of injuries. A lot of them, if not all of them have been contact injuries. Those you can’t really avoid, 100 percent. I do my part with being in the weight room, making sure my body is right to stay healthy. But you have to have a little bit of luck.”
Porzingis has heard the doubts and concerns about his health, but pledges they won’t continue to plague him.
“I’m going to take my game to the next level because my body is going to be healthy and that’s it,” he said.
At this point it’s something of an open secret that Porzingis and Doncic still hated each other. The fact that the former got dealt for two pieces who are objectively less talented than he is speaks volumes about where their relationship stood.
But now it’s time to move forward.
The photos speak for themselves.https://t.co/oImWPLaRvG
— Game 7 (@game7__) February 14, 2022
This is organization No. 3 for Porzingis now. The time to live up to his potential is now. If he does – then all past transgressions will be forgotten.
Should his D.C. run end in the same disappointment as his other ones, though – then he’ll likely go down in NBA lore as one of the more frustrating players of his generation.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
