Even though Mark Cuban is a specialist in big last-minute transfers, no one saw Kristaps Porzingis’ departure coming to the Wizards. Especially since the Mavericks recover in exchange a playmaker (Spencer Dinwiddie) when they frankly do not need it, but also a shooter (Davis Bertans).
Three years after having brought it from New York, then having extended it at a high price, Mark Cuban has therefore decided to separate the Doncic-Porzingis duo. The two frankly did not get along, on and off the pitch, and so the experiment came to an end.
“I think KP has incredible talent, but we needed a shooter (Bertans) and an extra player to get the ball up and be able to create his shot (Dinwiddie). Unfortunately, it was the only way to achieve it” explained Mark Cuban. “We have Luka, Brunson, Burke as the only players capable of creating through dribbling. And maybe Frank too. But with Spencer, the overall idea is to give Luka the opportunity to rest. Even if he does not want to spare himself, he will have the possibility. “
For the arrival of Davis Bertans, one of the outside shooting specialists, it was a question of responding to the foot injury of Tim Hardaway Jr. Last year, when I looked at our defense, I wondered why we couldn’t do better. continues Mavericks boss. “Sometimes it’s the game system that matters, and before the game system works, you have to find the players who can fit the different roles within the system. KP was very good for certain roles, and he did a lot of amazing things for us. But in the absence of Timmy, we were able to recover two players for a departure. Absent Timmy, Bertans can rule the game out, give more space for Luka, Trey, Jalen, Spencer, and any player on the pitch.“
No Goran Dragic in the viewfinder?
And then, Kristaps Porzingis is often injured. The remark of Tim Legler, on ESPN, who explained that he was a “unicorn” because we never saw him, is violent but not so false. Since his arrival, he had played only 134 of Dallas’ 209 games, or 64% of the encounters and this season he has already missed 21 games.
Despite this, Dallas was doing well, and his presence was therefore far from essential.
“It’s simple: we get two players in positions where there was a real need. Then there is the fact that we were playing well without KP. I don’t think it takes away from KP’s talent, and I actually think he’ll be better with the Wizards than with us.” assures Mark Cuban, who also recovers a certain financial flexibility.
New GM, Nico Harrison has made his first major deal, and he too is justified. “It was first a question of improving the team, rather than positioning oneself on available players. I think for KP his injuries are just kinda embarrassing stuff. If it was the playoffs, he would play. In season, for this kind of thing, we stay on the bench, but if it was the playoffs, he would play. So I don’t think it was of concern. It was my first trade deadline, and I have no point of comparison. We had tons of discussions with a bunch of teams, and it was the trade that made the most sense, and we complied. “
According to this same Harrison, the workforce of the Mavericks is closed for the end of the season. Even though Goran Dragic is cut by Spurs, he has announced that Dallas will not position themselves on him.
| Kristaps Porzingis | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2015-16 | NYK | 72 | 28 | 42.1 | 33.3 | 83.8 | 1.8 | 5.5 | 7.3 | 1.3 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 14.3 |
| 2016-17 | NYK | 66 | 33 | 45.0 | 35.7 | 78.6 | 1.7 | 5.5 | 7.2 | 1.5 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 18.1 |
| 2017-18 | NYK | 48 | 32 | 43.9 | 39.5 | 79.3 | 1.3 | 5.3 | 6.6 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 22.7 |
| 2019-20 | DAL | 57 | 32 | 42.7 | 35.2 | 79.9 | 1.8 | 7.7 | 9.5 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 20.4 |
| 2020-21 | DAL | 43 | 31 | 47.6 | 37.6 | 85.5 | 1.9 | 7.0 | 8.9 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 20.1 |
| 2021-22 | DAL | 34 | 30 | 45.1 | 28.3 | 86.5 | 1.9 | 5.8 | 7.7 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 19.2 |
| Total | 320 | 31 | 44.2 | 35.3 | 81.6 | 1.7 | 6.1 | 7.8 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 18.7 | |
