Kristaps Porzingis enduring injury woes with Hawks, just like with Celtics
When Kristaps Porzingis is on the court, it’s impossible to miss the lengthy big man who can seemingly do it all. But availability has been the issue throughout his career, and that’s been the case again in his brief Hawks tenure.
The Hawks have gotten off to a strong start at 9-6, looking like a potential playoff team in the East. But Porzingis missed his third straight game Tuesday in their loss to the Pistons due to right knee soreness. The big man has played in nine out of Atlanta’s 15 total games as an illness earlier this year also forced him to sit a few games.
Celtics fans have seen those availability issues slow down the talented big man. Last season, he missed the opening weeks of the year coming off foot surgery. That operation was needed because he suffered the foot injury in the 2024 NBA Finals. Then the illness, later diagnosed as POTS, slowed him down during the regular season and playoffs.
Porzingis has contributed for the Hawks when he does play. He’s averaging 17.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists in his nine games, though he’s shooting just 31.1% on 3-pointers. The Hawks traded for Porzingis from the Celtics in a win-now move, hoping the big man could help boost them in the standings.
What the Hawks do going forward is a major question mark as they’re in the thick of the East race to open the season. Star guard Trae Young has been sidelined since Oct. 29 due a sprained MCL. Despite the injury, the Hawks responded by going 8-3 and having a stellar defense in his absence. Young’s offensive skillset is obvious, but the Hawks have leaned on their defense to open the season.
How Porzingis also fits into the equation is worth monitoring going forward. He’s on an expiring $30.7 million contract, meaning he’s a free agent next summer. But the Hawks have gotten production from big man Onyeka Okongwu to open the year. So how Porzingis fits going forward is a factor, along with if he can stay healthy.
Mark Cuban immediately shuts down Mavericks' season-defining trade rumor
Dallas Mavericks minority owner and adviser to Patrick Dumont, Mark Cuban, recently said that Dallas won't trade Anthony Davis, according to a recent report by Joe Vardon of
"We won't," Cuban said. "We want to try to win."
Cuban shut down these rumors of Davis being moved within days of them originally coming out, but this decision will ultimately come down to Patrick Dumont and the direction that he wants to take moving forward.
Mark Cuban silences Anthony Davis trade talk — for now
If Cuban's statement about trying to win this year aligns with Dumont's mindset, then keeping Davis will be their best way to do that. Regardless of the injuries that have plagued his time in Dallas, he is still one of the top bigs in the NBA when healthy. He and Kyrie Irving could form a deadly duo together once Irving is ready to return from his ACL tear, but will Davis and Irving being healthy for the final stretch of the season be enough to push the Mavericks into the playoffs?
Probably not.
Heading into tonight's game against the New York Knicks, the Mavericks are 4-11 on the season, which puts them at 13th in the Western Conference. Even when Davis was healthy to begin the year, he didn't look great, and it didn't lead to Dallas winning games. The Mavs were 1-3 in the four full games that Davis played in, including a 30-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs and a home defeat to the 1-12 Washington Wizards.
The Mavericks can't expect Davis to lead the Mavericks on a surge back into the playoff race without Irving by his side, and the last thing that they need to do is to put pressure on either player to return prematurely from injury. Davis learned this the hard way last season when he strained his adductor in his first game as a Maverick, and if he were to get hurt this season, Dallas would be doomed.
Another serious injury to Davis would turn this season into even more of a nightmare than it already is, and on top of that, it would be much tougher to trade him.
Teams want to see Davis get healthy before trading for him (if Dallas does indeed shop him), and they'd likely be stuck with him for the remainder of the season. Davis is owed $175 million over the next three seasons, and no team will want to pay him this if he gets hurt again.
While Cuban has the right to his opinion, and he could be telling the truth about the team wanting to win as many games as possible right now by keeping Davis, trading him to build around Cooper Flagg seems to be the best route forward.
Dallas' 2026 first-round pick is their only first-round pick of their own that they own until 2031, and they can't afford to mess this up. The Mavericks need to add the best possible young player to grow alongside Flagg, and the best way to strengthen their odds of doing so would be to tank.
Time will tell if the Davis rumors turn into anything, but Cuban seems to be standing firm on his stance that Davis is going to remain in Dallas for the time being.
