Before the Dallas Mavericks traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Washington Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans at the deadline, they attempted to send him to the Toronto Raptors in a deal for Goran Dragic and Gary Trent Jr.
While the Mavericks hoped Porzingis would be a second star to pair with Luka Doncic, it never played out that way on the floor.
“They tried to trade him to Toronto,” said Tim MacMahon on The Lowe Post. “My understanding is their discussions there were Dragic and Gary Trent. Toronto understandably said ‘We’re not giving up Gary Trent Jr.’
“So the Washington thing came together. And the Mavericks basically got to the point of ‘Hey, financially it’s a wash, but it’s two smaller contracts that would be easier to move.’ And they felt K.P. was kind of in the way and those two guys could fill roles off the bench, so they pulled the trigger as soon as they found a deal where they didn’t have to give up a first round pick. A lot of that was the fit with K.P. wasn’t there. It doesn’t mean Porzingis necessarily did anything wrong. The Mavericks took a huge swing and a miss on him. It didn’t work out.
“Ultimately, I do think there’s a ceiling on a one-star team. You have to go all the way back, ironically, to the Dirk Mavericks to find a one-star NBA champion. But you know, if there’s a guy who is going to do it, it’s a dude like Luka.”