Dallas Mavericks won the Kristaps Porzingis trade

The Dallas Mavericks acquired Kristaps Porzingis from New York Knicks on Jan 31, 2019. Success has followed. Here is a look back at that trade.

The Dallas Mavericks made a franchise-altering trade in the middle of last season. They agreed to send Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews, DeAndre Jordan, and two future first round picks to the New York Knicks for Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke.

It was a massive shift in their current roster. DSJ, Matthews, and Jordan were all starting for the Mavs before the trade. Porzingis was not healthy enough to play. The Mavericks also traded away Harrison Barnes in a separate deal leaving just Luka Doncic as the only remaining starter in Texas.

The move marked a clear acceleration of the rebuilding process in Dallas and was largely a salary dump move for New York in hopes of acquiring big-name free agents in the upcoming summer. Well, the Knicks did not land any, but the Mavericks certainly took the next step as a team.

Dallas finished last season with a 33-49 record. It put them in the lottery for the third straight year. This season, the Mavericks are 33-22 with 27 games remaining. They are all, but a playoff lock at this point sitting in seventh place in the conference with an 8.5 game lead on the ninth place Portland Trail Blazers.

By all accounts, the trade has been an overwhelming success for Dallas thus far. Let us take a look at the details to further determine why the Dallas Mavericks won the Kristaps Porzingis trade.

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