The Dallas Mavericks are among the NBA’s most disappointing teams this season, and they may want to shake things up with the NBA’s negotiation deadline a month from now.
The Mavericks (14-15) contacted the Warriors to “assess” the Golden State’s interest in Kristaps Porzingis, SNY’s Ian Begley reported on Tuesday, citing sources.
Dallas acquired Porzingis in a 2019 negotiation with the New York Knicks, hoping that the merger of Porzingis and Luka Doncic would take them to the top of the Western Conference. But Porzingis, 25, had a difficult time in Dallas, with injuries and inconsistent production that put a black cloud over his management.
Although Porzingis is still an effective offensive player, it is his defensive decline that probably makes the Mavericks want to move on. So far this season, when Porzingis is on the court, the Mavericks are allowing 119.5 points for 100 possessions. That number would be two points worse than the Kings, who are in 30th place in the NBA. When Porzingis is on the bench, the Mavs are allowing 108.7 points per 100 possessions, which would be good enough for a top five in the NBA.
There is no doubt that the Mavericks will have a hard time moving Porzingis, who is in the second year of a five-year, $ 158.2 million contract.
That salary number, which earned him $ 29.4 million a season, would make it difficult to acquire the Warriors if they wanted to. Golden State has exceeded the luxury tax limit, so the Warriors cannot acquire wages in excess of 125% plus $ 100,000 of what they are sending.
In short, this means that if the Warriors wanted to trade for Porzingis, they would have to include Kelly Oubre Jr. ($ 14.3 million) and one from Andrew Wiggins or Draymond Green while taking back a player like Josh Richardson (to earn money working to Dallas), or swapping Oubre, Kevon Looney and James Wiseman for Porzingis, which is something the Warriors would not be interested in.
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This season, Porzingis averages 20.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 47.3 percent of the field and 35.2 percent of the 3-point range. But the defense of the 2.13 meter big man has been a problem. Maybe he will get his agility back while his knee continues to recover at full strength, but from now on, the Mavericks are a much worse team defensively with him on the court.
The Warriors (16-15) are entering a critical point of their season, as they seek to gather victories and firmly enter the playoff of the Western Conference. But don’t wait for Porzingis to pack for the bay. Both the contract and the adjustment on the court do not correspond to what the Warriors are looking for as the March 25 negotiation deadline approaches.
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