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Dallas Mavericks acquired forward Kristaps Porzingis in a trade with the New York Knicks last month knowing that he's still rehabbing from a torn ACL he suffered more than a year ago.
This has raised some questions around the league, as there are some who league officials who believe that the Mavericks are holding out Porzingis so they can purposely lose and have a higher chance of keeping their pick in this year's draft.
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Over 12 months have passed since Porzingis suffered a torn ACL and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban already indicated he’d miss the rest of the 2018-19 season to continue his rehab from the injury he suffered with the Knicks last February.
That’s an abnormally long absence. According to one NBA team’s internal study on the injury, the average return to play for a torn ACL in the NBA is 293 days, or 9.8 months. We’re at 387 days with Porzingis. If Porzingis returned on the final day of the regular season, he would miss 428 days, or 14.3 months. The study also eliminates any height correlation, noting that fellow big man J.J. Hickson returned in 211 days and Kendrick Perkins, 224.
This wouldn’t raise too many eyebrows around the league if it not for the fact that the Mavericks, who at 27-34 have the ninth-worst record in the league, keep their 2019 pick if it lands in the top-five slots on draft lottery night.
“Why is (Kristaps Porzingis) allowed to sit,” a high-ranking team official asked, “so the teams he’s been on can tank?”
However, the league has hasn't given the Mavericks any warning regarding the possibility of them purposely letting Porzingis sit out the remainder of the season for one specific reason; it is widely known that his recovery from the torn ACL has taken some setbacks. He hasn't been medically cleared to play by the team doctors.
However, there's an assurance that Kristaps Porzingis will be back 100 percent next season and every Mavericks fan is excited about the idea of him playing with Luka Doncic.
