The Dallas Mavericks shocked the NBA world when they traded for Kristaps Porzingis. That duo with Luka Doncic had the potential to be historically great, and the early returns were quite encouraging.
But then, rumors of an alleged feud between the two young stars, plus Porzingis' never-ending injury woes, forced the Mavs' hands to part ways with the Latvian big man after just a couple of seasons.
So, now that the time has gone by and he's been able to look back and think about it, the Washington Wizards star believes he was to blame for the early end to that promising pairing, claiming that there are no hard feelings towards the organization at all.
Kristaps Porzingis Takes The Blame For Not Figuring Things Out With Luka Doncic
“I was having fun. I was doing my thing, I was having fun. It just wasn’t the perfect situation," Porzingis said on The Ariel Helwani Basketball Show. "I thought so too, for sure. Yeah, I don’t know. We never played up to that level. And a lot of it’s on me. I could have played better; I think we had glimpses before the bubble and during the bubble where I played at a high level and things were clicking and working well with Luka."
"Then I got hurt in the bubble and after that, there were a lot of things, but I look at what I could have done better," Porzingis added. "I can criticize myself looking back. I wasn't moving as well defensively; my rhythm wasn't good at parts of the season. I wasn't playing at the level I was playing at now. Overall, I think sooner or later, [the trade from Dallas] was going to be the result."
"They always treated me good. They always treated me well, and I wish, truly, everybody in the organization the best," continued Porzingis. "Great people, were perfect with me. I only want good things for them. Even if they did me wrong, I would wish them good things. Nothing but the best things to say about Dallas."
Porzingis got a career revival with the Wizards before suffering even more injuries, and fans will always wonder how far he and Doncic could've gotten if they had kept them together for a little longer.
