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The problems keep piling up for the Dallas Mavericks.
The problems keep piling up for the Dallas Mavericks.
Mavs star Luka Doncic, who has already had uncertainty surrounding his future in Dallas, reportedly does not like his sidekick Kristaps Porzingis, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported on “The Lowe Post” podcast.
The two have been known to have “dustups” since Porzingis’ arrival in Dallas, according to Mavs owner Mark Cuban. One of them occurred after Porzingis visited a strip club after a playoff game against the Los Angeles Clippers. While the Mavericks decided to laugh off the event, it reportedly angered Doncic, per Mike Fischer of 105.3 The FAN.
Doncic may have a problem with Porzingis, but Porzingis denies ever having a problem with Luka and countered Cuban’s claim.
Remember when Porzingis broke the rules and snuck off to an L.A. strip club during the playoffs? The Mavs pretended to laugh it off; privately, Doncic wasn’t chuckling.
— fishsports (@fishsports) June 27, 2021
“I’ve never had any problems with my teammates off the court, I’ve always gotten along very well with them,” Porzingis said on Radio Marca, a Spanish radio station. “I don’t know what Cuban was talking about. I try to be as professional as possible, do what I have to do and be a soldier for the team.”
Dallas acquired Porzingis from the New York Knicks in 2019. Dallas traded Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, and two future first-round draft picks for Porzingis, Courtney Lee, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke.
The former Knick has not met expectations since the trade. He averaged 20.1 points per game and 8.9 rebounds during the 2020-21 regular season, but faltered in the postseason. In Dallas’ first-round series against the Clippers, Porzingis averaged just 13.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He was also a liability on defense.
The Mavs managed to blow a 2-0 lead in that series, and lost Game 7 in Los Angeles.
Dallas will want to please Doncic and keep him around for as long as possible, but it could be hard to move Porzingis and the $100 million he has left on his contract. The two may have to make up and get over their differences.
This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Evan Orris
