11 Players who turned their back on the Dallas Mavericks

9. Kristaps Porzingis

During the middle of Luka Doncic's rookie year, the Dallas Mavericks traded for Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks. As part of this deal, the Mavs sent a package centered around Deanadre Jordan and young guard Dennis Smith Jr. to the Knicks for Porzingis.

Doncic and Porzingis were supposed to be the next duo to dominate the Western Conference and for the Mavs to build around, but Porzingis' time in Dallas was quite forgettable. He was always battling injuries, never won a playoff series, and his fit was questionable.

All of these things don't fall directly on Porzingis, but it's clear that he could have done more to make his time in Dallas more pleasurable. He has admitted to playing his role "out of spite" during one of the Mavs' series against the Clippers in the playoffs, and he and Luka never really got along.

Porzingis didn't fully turn his back on the Mavs, but him not playing out his role to the best of his ability while having some maturity issues was not a good mix alongside Doncic to start his NBA career.

Porzingis is playing much better now, as he has the chance to contend for the NBA Finals this year with the Boston Celtics, but he will not be remembered for his time with the Mavs. Things could have gone better if both he and Doncic were more mature, but the fit was always just off.