Problematic Injury History
The most important ability when it comes to sports is availability. You cannot help your team win games if you cannot get on the court. For Kristaps Porzingis, that has become a legitimate issue.
When the Mavericks acquired Porzingis from the Knicks, he was recovering from ACL surgery. He didn’t make it through his season on the court with the Mavericks without another injury, as he had to undergo meniscus surgery, which kept him sidelined to begin the 2020-21 season.
Porzingis has missed double-digit games every season of his career, including the entire 2018-19 season as he recovered from ACL surgery. All in all, Porzingis has appeared in only 122 games since the 2017-18 season began. That is just not going to cut it for someone that received a max-contract.
What makes the injuries worse is that they are all to the lower body and he has now had to undergo surgery on both knees, the left for the ACL and the right for the meniscus. It is hard enough on the body being as tall as he is. At 25-years old with a serious injury to both knees already, it is hard to imagine things will get better from a healthy and athleticism standpoint.
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It would not be a surprise if the Mavericks decide he is not someone they can count on moving forward and decide to shop him. Dallas doesn’t want to waste any years of Luka Doncic’s career pairing him with someone they cannot count on being out on the floor every night. If they can receive a package that helps them in the short and long term, they will have to seriously consider it.
