Despite recovering from an ACL tear suffered in February of 2018, the Dallas Mavericks still signed restricted free agent and one-time All-Star forward Kristaps Porzingis to a five-year max deal worth $158 million.

Not everybody is sold on where Porzingis is at and how well he could perform when he returns to the hardwood, however.

Via Keith Smith in RealGM:

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Mavericks Clippers prediction

Dominik Zawartko ·

Dallas Maverick Kyrie Irving Team USA Olympics roster NBA Playoffs

Peter Sampson ·

Dereck Lively II (Mavericks) looking serious.

Joey Mistretta ·

“It’s tough. First, you have to believe he’s fully recovered from the ACL. I assume they do. Then, is he really a max guy? Signs were there before he got hurt for sure. I worry about some of this off-court stuff that has come up. Sometimes these young guys become someone different on us. I know Dallas does their homework though. They must believe it will all be fine.”

Dallas acquired Porzingis at the end of January earlier this year in a package with the New York Knicks that included sending former lottery selection point guard Dennis Smith Jr. and two future first-round picks to New York. In spite of never playing a game for the Mavs yet, the front office handed a max contract to Porzingis in the offseason, expecting him to pair nicely with reigning Rookie of the Year winner Luka Doncic.

Referring to “off-court stuff” in the quote from an anonymous league executive, Porzingis is facing an ongoing lawsuit from a woman alleging sexual assault in her Manhattan apartment the same night Porzingis suffered his ACL tear while playing for the Knicks in February 2018.

Team owner Mark Cuban and the Mavs have seemingly brushed that aside along with another incident, which saw Kristaps Porzingis in a brawl outside a Latvian club in May with a bloodied shirt.