Dallas Mavericks‘ Kristaps Porzingis has been receiving criticism from a handful of people this season. The latest one is coming from New York Knicks’ retired player and Hall of Famer Earl Monroe. Monroe tweeted that Porzingis has gone from being a franchise player to a role player for the Mavs.
Is it just me or has Porzingis gone from franchise player with Knicks to functional skilled big with the Mavs?
— Earl The Pearl Monroe (@RealEarlMonroe) April 17, 2021
Porzingis, who was drafted by the Knicks fourth overall in 2015, was traded to the Mavs for Dennis Smith Jr., two future first-round picks, and the expiring contracts of DeAndre Jordan and Wes Matthews. This was a bit of a shock for Knicks fans because the rookie was averaging 22.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks before he injured his ACL. Prozingis’ unfortunate injury happened in 2018 which is why he sat out the whole 2018-2019 season.
The Latvian then suited up for the Mavs last season where he averaged 20.4 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. He helped the Mavs challenge the Los Angeles Clippers to six games last season and who knows what would have happened if he wasn’t sidelined due to injury in the middle of that series.
To Monroe’s point, maybe the reason why Porzingis’ role has somewhat changed for the Mavs is that their offense rotates around All-Star Luka Doncic—the rising superstar who is dubbed to be the next face of the Mavericks.
It makes sense why Porzingis has become a role player especially if Doncic handles the ball almost all the time for the Mavs. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean Porzingis cannot contribute to a game. He’s averaged 20.8 points and 9.4 rebounds a game this season. It will be interesting to see how far Donic and Prozingis take the Mavs in the postseason.
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