Kristaps Porzingis' marriage to the Mavericks seems to have hit a rocky patch.
In the aftermath of Dallas' Game 7 loss to the Clippers, ESPN's Tim McMahon is reporting that Porzingis is "frustrated" with his role alongside superstar Luka Doncic.
There are questions about the chemistry between Doncic and Porzingis. The Mavs' franchise cornerstones admittedly aren't friends, a distant dynamic that team owner Mark Cuban has compared to the early stages of the partnership between Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry, which ultimately produced two NBA Finals appearances and a championship.
But Porzingis has been frustrated, often feeling more like an afterthought than a co-star as Doncic dominates the ball and the spotlight, sources told ESPN.
That certainly doesn't sound like a good thing. If Porzingis and Doncic aren't co-existing well, that will make it tough for them to develop the chemistry needed to ever truly take the next step and become Western Conference contenders.
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Their struggles connecting were apparent in their series against the Clippers. While Doncic was excellent and averaged 35.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 10.3 assists per game during the seven-contest affair, Porzingis was less than stellar. He averaged just 13.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting a paltry 29.6 percent from 3-point range.
Porzingis' subpar series drew the ire of Mavericks fans on Twitter, and Doncic couldn't do much to help Porzingis find success and snap out of it.
If Dallas can't get the Doncic/Porzingis tag team in sync, the Mavs may try to trade Porzingis to open up the cap room needed to chase other stars on the trade market and in free agency. Of course, that will be no easy feat given how he has played compared with the value of his max contract.
Porzingis is due at least $31.6 million in each of the next two seasons and has a player option worth $36 million in 2023-24, which he will almost certainly pick up. Would any team be willing to take on that sort of deal for a player who has played just 148 regular season games over the past four seasons? Porzingis, 25, is still young, but it's hard to imagine that the interest in him would be overwhelming.
The Mavericks would also likely have to take back money in any trade, so if they're not getting a star to add around Doncic or salary filler on one-year deals with that move, it may not be worth it.
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Additionally, Dallas will soon need to give Doncic the max and probably wants to retain free-agent-to-be Tim Hardaway Jr., who has shot better than 39 percent from 3-point range in each of the past two seasons. As such, money could soon become an issue for them as they look to build a contender around Doncic.
Suffice to say, the Mavericks are still hoping that Porzingis and Doncic can work out as a long-term pairing, as their alternatives to that aren't too exciting.
On the bright side, Porzingis seems willing to put in the work needed to re-emerge as one of the more exciting, young players in the league.
"How do I feel? I mean, I'm good. I tried to put in the work, tried to work hard," Porzingis said, per McMahon. "I do my part, listen to the coaches, what I'm asked to do, and that's it.
"I try to keep it simple for myself, so I'm not overthinking, and I try to focus on what I can control. That's being a better basketball player, going into the offseason hungry. I want to get better physically [and] on the basketball court. I'm going to put that work in to get better, and then the rest of the stuff will resolve itself."
