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It seems like an eternity ago — and in NBA time, that’s kind of accurate — since the New York Knicks parted ways with All-Star big man Kristaps Porzingis. Really, though, just three years have passed since the Unicorn was shipped off to the Mavericks to team up with Luka Doncic.
Apparently, that was more than enough time for Mark Cuban’s club to decide the pairing wasn’t a winning one.
During the waning moments of Thursday’s trade deadline, the Mavs elected to ship the Knicks draftee back to the Eastern Conference. Porzingis was dealt by Dallas, along with a second-round pick, to the Wizards in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.
Look for the big man to step right into a featured role for the Wiz, who just parted ways with Montrezl Harrell and have lost All-Star guard Bradley Beal to season-ending wrist surgery.
In the wake of the trade, though, Porzingis wasn’t hyping his new digs. He was expressing appreciation for his time in the Big D.
Porzingis Takes to Twitter
Shortly after news of a Mavs-Wizards pact began to spread, Porzingis hit up Twitter to comment on the situation. In doing so, he made it known that he appreciated his time with the Mavs, even as the team failed to live up to expectations during postseason play.
“Since day 1 the fans and the city of Dallas welcomed me with open arms and I will always be grateful for that,” he tweeted. “To my teammates, coaches, organization and the city THANK YOU! I wish you all continued success.”
On Friday, the Mavs responded by tweeting out an appreciation video and noting that “Dallas is a better place because you were here.” Porzingis quote-tweeted the post and responded, “I’m lucky to have had the opportunity to call Dallas my home. Special place in my heart forever.”
Clearly, not all trades in the Association result in chips being on shoulders.
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Porzingis Was Similarly Grateful to the Knicks, But…
When the Knicks sent Porzingis to the Mavs back in 2019, the Latvian sharpshooter made a similar post, tweeting “New York will always have a special place in my heart. Grateful for everybody who made this journey so special for my family and I.”
Unfortunately, he had already put some Knicks fans into a frenzy by tweeting footage of himself and Doncic yucking it up during what would ultimately be his last game as part of the organization.
It would seem that Porzingis has learned from his past social-media mistakes.
In 34 games with the Mavs this season, the Zinger averaged 19.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest. However, he’s currently shooting a career-low 28.3% from three-point range. Before his big move west, he played three seasons with the Knicks before suffering an ACL injury.
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