It's quite clear the Dallas Mavericks are on rebuilding mode, breaking new grounds in an effort to construct a new dynasty that hopefully could equal or even exceed the era headlined by Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki. For this, Dallas is betting on the 7'3" Kristaps Porzingis, whom the team will make $158 million richer to convince him to stay for half-a-decade.
The five-year extension, according to Reuters, "will be the largest in Mavericks history in total dollars and per-season average." Dallas and Porzingis agreed on the super-max despite the latter's knee injury, which for many in the NBA served as a career-ending episode.
The Latvian's paycheck will now be written in the Mavericks' history as the biggest windfall awarded to a player. The last the Dallas front office spent that much was in 2016 when the team signed up Harrison Barnes, who Forbes said collected $94.4 million in exchange for a four-year deal.
But in Porzingis' case, Dallas provided him full guarantee as if to emphasize the level of confidence the team bestows on the center who was averaging 22.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 2.4 blocks prior to suffering a tear on his left ACL.
Even before the 2019 NBA free agency, the Mavericks have made clear they want Porzingis for the long haul, Yahoo Sports reported. The team governor, Mark Cuban, has earlier declared that Porzingis will stay in Dallas and will be given the super-max he deserves, so the emergence of the deal was not surprising at all.
NBA analysts said the Dallas blueprint for Porzingis is crystal clear. He will be paired with Luka Doncic, the 20-year-old Maverick who won the NBA Rookie of the Year in the last season. The team is convinced Porzingis will fully recover and return to his old deadly form.
That would be imposing his hulking presence on the court, put up a great wall of defense, run the floor and convert threes when called for. Yahoo said this was the normal Porzingis seen while playing for the New York Knicks and the hope is high he will outperform himself wearing the Mavericks jersey.
Porzingis blending well with Doncic and the rest of the Mavericks core would mean a repeat of the Nowitzki-Nash dynasty that delivered a lone NBA title in 2011.
It surely is a tall order for Porzingis, who as a franchise player is tipped to see in action on the more than 70 games lined up for the Mavs. Should he fully heals and flourishes as the team expects him to be, "Dallas is going to be a threat to come out of the West within a couple of seasons, and for a long time after that," Yahoo predicted.
