NBANews

1 Big Reason Nobody Wants Mavs’ Kristaps Porzingis

1 Big Reason Nobody Wants Mavs’ Kristaps Porzingis

Earlier this week multiple reports surfaced indicating that the Dallas Mavericks were attempting to trade Kristaps Porzingis.

Although team owner Mark Cuban has been steadfast in his denials that Porzingis is on the market, Dallas reportedly spoke to at least one team about a potential deal. Ultimately, it didn’t come to fruition.

The one thing that may make moving Porzingis difficult is the fact that teams seem to be hesitant to take a chance on him.

“No matter what you’re hearing, they say keep an eye on Kristaps Porzingis,” Marc J. Spears said on ESPN’s ‘The Jump’ this week. “He is somebody that Dallas is shopping. Because of salary, injuries, and as one scout said ‘high maintenance issues.'”

The concerns highlighted by Spears were echoed by Washington Wizards insider Quinton Mayo.

Mayo reached out to several NBA agents to determine whether there was anything to the rumors that Washington may make a play for Porzingis’ services.

“Yea[h] no,” one replied. “Also, his brothers (agent) are cancer, you don’t want that.”

This isn’t the first time Porzingis’ brother has been described in a negative light. He also didn’t win himself any fans in New York.

As noted by Marc Berman of the New York Post, “Janis [Porzingis] … wanted to be a bigger part of the Knicks’ team, too. … Janis asked for jobs for some members of Porzingis’ entourage. But nothing ever materialized… Ultimately, Knicks brass could never satisfy Janis, whom Kristaps believes in fully.”

The Knicks subsequently traded Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Trey Burke to the Mavericks for Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews and two first round draft picks.

Last year, in the NBA Bubble, Porzingis proved to be an absolute beast. He averaged 28.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists in nine outings and displayed the sort of promise Dallas was hoping for when the organization paired him up with Luka Doncic.

Unfortunately, Porzingis just hasn’t been able to recapture the magic this season. A torn meniscus kept him out of action until January 13, and when he did come back, he ended up being an incredibly huge liability on the defensive side of the ball.

Clearly, despite what Cuban is saying, the Mavericks are interested in moving Porzingis. Where there’s smoke there’s fire, and frankly, Doncic’s continuous frustration this year speaks for itself.

That said, no matter how motivated Dallas is to deal Porzingis, they can’t do it without a willing trade partner. And based on everything coming out about Porzingis’ baggage, finding one may prove to be much more difficult than anyone anticipated.

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Carlos Garcia

A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.

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