Kristaps Porzingis on pairing up with Luka Doncic in Dallas: 'I just wasn't the right guy' / News - Basketnews.com

Kristaps Porzingis shared his thoughts on why he didn't fit with Luka Doncic during his time with the Dallas Mavericks.

Credit: USA TODAY Sports-Scanpix Credit USA TODAY Sports-Scanpix

The Dallas Mavericks hoped to have one of the NBA's best star duos when they added Kristaps Porzingis to Luka Doncic via trade with the New York Knicks in January 2019.

2-pointers this season

58%24,9Points made:24,9Accuracy:57,8%Place in standings:30Record max:33Record min:18Most made 2FGs:Luka DoncicTeamNBAStatisticsSchedule

Dallas subsequently signed Porzingis to a five-year, $158 million max contract before he had played a game with the franchise. Porzingis was coming off a torn ACL in his left knee.

There was significant enthusiasm for the pairing with Luka Doncic, and the results were impressive when Porzingis was healthy and things clicked. Under former coach Rick Carlisle, they finished with the NBA's best-ever single-season offensive rating (115.9) at the time.

Porzingis was quite successful with averages of 20.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in 134 regular season appearances.

"On paper, it would be the perfect fit, but it just didn't mesh the way that we wanted to," Porzingis told Yahoo Sports.

The fit made sense initially, but it wasn't easy to get the most out of Porzingis when it mattered most since he was never healthy or in rhythm to end a playoff run.

The Mavs ultimately opted to move on from Porzingis ahead of last year's midseason deadline in a trade with the Washington Wizards in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans. Porzingis is having a pretty standard season based on his prior NBA production, with averages of 21.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks.

"We just did not mesh together well. Sometimes it's like that in the workplace, you know? It just didn’t work out the way you expected," Porzingis added.

Porzingis described Doncic as being a "generational talent" and understands the need to maximize his impact as the priority. He just doesn't feel as though he was "the right guy" to be his co-star.

Dallas Mavericks / Schedule

Dallas Mavericks Golden State Warriors116-113 Detroit Pistons Dallas Mavericks131-125 New York Knicks Dallas Mavericks100-121 Dallas Mavericks Phoenix Suns130-111 Denver Nuggets Dallas MavericksWed03:00

"Luka is a generational talent. You have to put the perfect team around him to get the maximum out of him, you know?" Porzingis said. "I just wasn't the right guy."

On the other hand, the Latvian forward is very happy with his current situation with the Wizards.

"I love the city. I love the organization. People around the organization. And I love playing with Brad (Beal) and these guys, Kuz (Kyle Kuzma)," Porzingis said. "You never know what happens in the future, but I'm enjoying my time here so far and hopefully, I can stay here long term."

Porzingis also referred to Anthony Davis, who was matched up with the Washington Wizards big man and put in a season-best performance with 55 points to go along with 17 rebounds and three blocks.

During his postgame interview, Porzingis was asked about his thoughts on the level Davis has been playing this season.

"I think right now, the stretch that he's having… he’s playing at an MVP level. Sooner or later, he will be in the [MVP] conversation. The most important is for him to stay healthy and stay working on his body.

It's good to see him like this after having some injuries and some other things. Good to see him bounce back and be playing at this level right now."

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