Dallas Mavericks: 3 takeaways from the 2019-2020 season

Continue treating Kristaps Porzingis’ knees with caution

Before Dallas reached an agreement with Kristaps Porzingis on a five-year, $158 million max contract, the red flags flapped in the wind. It’s well-documented that the one-time NBA All-Star missed 20 months recovering from an ACL tear suffered in 2018.

Despite the severe injuries, the Dallas Mavericks didn’t deem it necessary to make Porzingis’ deal incentive base. Although it’s futile to debate after the fact, the cautionary tales of NBA bigs with knee injuries write themselves.

Dallas did its best to keep the max-money investment prepared for a playoff stretch. Unfortunately, Porzingis knees didn’t hold up, even with a valiant effort. Dallas did its best to monitor the long-term health of Doncic’s running mate.

Considering the treatment for the torn meniscus is potentially possible without surgery, the timetable for Porzingis doesn’t feel as dooming. However, moving with the utmost of prudence favors both the franchise and the player in this scenario.

Porzingis missed only four more games than Doncic this season. Perhaps moving forward, Dallas should multiply the nights Porzingis sits out for “rest”. In an era where long-term health trumps random late-March games, expect Dallas to continue the trend of protecting its star. It is okay to sacrifice some regular-season games for the greater good of a player’s career.