Jason Kidd and a Dallas Mavericks contingent recently visited Slovenia for Luka Doncic's supermax contract extension. While most of the group went back to Dallas after those festivities, the new Mavs head coach took a side trip to Latvia to visit Kristaps Porzingis for a few days.
Kidd reported back to The Dallas Morning News' Brad Townsend with some details about his trip to see the other Mavs star:
“KP was an incredible host,” Kidd said. “We had dinners. “We got to see him work out and we got to talk a lot.
“He’s in a good place, physically and mentally,” Kidd added of Porzingis, “and I’m excited about the opportunity to coach him.”
Kidd later reiterated again that Porzingis is “in a great place” and explained that he simply wanted to learn more about the Mavs big man's background before coaching him. They talked a lot about basketball, but they also had conversations about how Porzingis is doing off the court.
This all makes a lot of sense after a rough season for Porzingis under former head coach Rick Carlisle. The Mavs star played 43 of 72 regular-season games and then saw his role shrink dramatically in the playoffs, which naturally brought about some frustration. There have also been rumors swirling about a beef with Doncic.
Porzingis is currently healthy as training camp approaches. This is a huge bonus after recent offseasons saw him rehabbing from surgeries. Kidd is confident the big man will find his groove again and play a big role as the Mavs look to take a step forward. The last two seasons have featured first-round exits, and now it's time to start legitimately winning with Doncic and Porzingis as the two cornerstones.
Otherwise, Dallas will surely look to trade Porzingis and make some big changes around Doncic. This offseason has been relatively quiet, but there will be more urgency moving forward.
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