Porzingis on trade rumors: ‘It could only distract me at the end of the day’
Goforitradio Staff
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Mavericks F/C Kristaps Porzingis(questionable) could return on Saturday night as the team travels to Brooklyn to battle the Nets. Porzingis missed the past three games with lower back tightness, including the team’s 111-97 road loss to the 76ers on Thursday night.
During his time away from the floor, rumors surfaced that the Mavericks were quietly shopping the fifth-year player. However, the Mavericks organization quickly said that was not the case.
On Friday, the 25-year-old Porzingis, who the Mavericks acquired from the Knicks in 2019, addressed the trade rumors.
“As I said, it kind of like came out. It is what it is,” Porzingis said. “I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. I shouldn’t be too worried about it. It could only distract me at the end of the day. I try to focus on being in the moment, being here day-to-day, putting in the work with my teammates, and getting better as a basketball player at the end. That’s it.
“As I said, there’s not much I can do at this point. Just focused on playing, playing well, and getting wins.”
Porzingis missed time to start the season after coming off knee surgery. In 17 games, he’s averaging 20.5 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 1.6 BPG. He’s under contract until 2023(player option 23-24 season) after signing—a five-year, $158 max contract with the Mavericks back in 2019.
Dallas’ two best players are Luka Doncic and Porzingis, and both are young. Porzingis’ injury history is concerning, but his skill set is tremendous, and both he and Doncic(21 years old) are young, so it’s probably in the team’s best interest to let these two grow together.
