Dallas Mavericks: 3 reasons they should not trade Kristaps Porzingis

Dallas Mavericks have a value problem when trading Kristaps Porzingis

Kristaps Porzingis was once considered to be one of the most sought out players in the league. When the Dallas Mavericks traded for him experts around the league were stunned that they pried him away from the New York Knicks.

The Mavs took on the salaries of Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, Trey Burke to make the deal. They sent Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, a 2021 first-round pick, and a protected 2023 first-round pick to the Knicks to complete the trade.
At the time, it seemed like an absolute steal for the Mavs.

Fast-forward just three years and it seems like the Mavs can’t even get half of the price that they paid for him. It seems like a majority of Mavs fans are lined up with pitchforks demanding the front office to trade KP away for essentially nothing just to create cap space.

Cap space is not a friend of the Dallas Mavericks. Every offseason it seems like the Mavs are going to go after a particular free agent just to have them pick another team. DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, Hassan Whiteside, and even Jay Crowder are all prime examples of this happening.

To trade KP for essentially nothing, or for a player who has a bloated contract isn’t ideal. When healthy (outside of this year’s playoff series), he has shown to be a potent offensive threat, while lacking on the defensive end. So to sell low coming off of the worst performance of his career doesn’t make sense. If the Mavs want to deal him, they should wait for the trade deadline and hope that he has recouped some of his value.

Next: No. 2