Playing on Sunday for the first time since January 29, Kristaps Porzingis was on a minutes restriction in his Wizards debut upon returning from a right knee injury. However, he still managed to rack up 25 points in just over 21 minutes of action, playing a key role in the club’s victory over Indiana.
After the game, Porzingis was wearing a “perma-grin” when he spoke to reporters, according to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post. The big man said his move from Dallas to Washington has been “a smooth transition all the way around,” and drew praise from his new teammates who were playing alongside him for the first time.
“It was phenomenal,” forward Kyle Kuzma said. “Teams can’t just load up on me, having that extra guy out there that causes a lot of threat to defenses. With him, he’s so versatile. … There’s a reason why they call him ‘The Unicorn.'”
With Bradley Beal out for the rest of the season due to a wrist injury, Porzingis won’t have an opportunity to develop chemistry with the Wizards’ franchise player in the coming weeks. But he said on Sunday that he looks forward to getting that chance next season, assuming Beal – who can become a free agent this summer – remains in D.C.
[RELATED: Bradley Beal Leaning Toward Re-Signing With Wizards]
“I feel good here, honestly,” Porzingis said, per Wallace. “… Hopefully we’ll have Brad next season. I don’t know what the situation is, but I would love to play with him and Kuz and the rest of the guys. I think there are some exciting things to look forward to.”
Here’s more on the Wizards:
- There may not be enough frontcourt minutes to go around with Porzingis in the rotation, Wallace writes for The Washington Post, noting that Thomas Bryant was a DNP-CD on Sunday. Bryant had previously played in 11 straight games, averaging 19.4 MPG during that stretch.
- Wizards point guard Raul Neto missed the second half of Sunday’s win due to a left ankle sprain, per Wallace. Head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said after the game that Neto was moving well and will be considered day-to-day going forward. Typically a backup, Neto has been Washington’s starting point guard since the trade deadline and was playing well, averaging 11.5 PPG and 5.1 APG on .500/.429/.773 shooting in his last 10 games.
- Responding to Spencer Dinwiddie‘s comments about his time in Washington and his claim that he was “kicked out the door,” Unseld and Kuzma both expressed a desire to move forward, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. “I’m not going to get into the accuracy of (Dinwiddie’s comments). It’s one of those things where, organizationally, it worked and he was aggressive early. We won a lot of games,” Unseld said. “Bottom-line, we had to make a change [at the trade deadline] and to get something we had to give up something. He’s a really talented guy, he’s playing well and he’s healthy. We look forward to seeing the benefit of that trade. It is what it is. I think it’s one of those things where we just have to move on and get past it.”
Wizards are cornering the market for players who were supposed to be stars on their previous team. Just need to get a player like Simmons and they’d be set.
Bit late on the Simmons sweepstakes
They call him the unicorn because he gets talked about a lot but it’s rare for anyone to actually see him. Most wonder if the stories about him are true or modern mythology. Poor dingus.
KP is talented and hasn’t even tapped into his true potential. He should’ve been unstoppable in the pick and roll with Luka but he preferred to jacks up 3’s, which he wasn’t hitting this year. Great rim protector, when he plays. Just a matter of time before he’s out for 2-3 weeks again, at the minimum. He went through stretches where he looked like he was better thank Luka, then he gets hurt.
Hasn’t tapped into his potential? He’s been in the league for like 7 years. Think he’ll tap into it before he retires?
Luka is extremely ball dominant & KP didn’t see the ball enough. Luka is the better player & he obv is the guy to chose if a choice has to be made but ppl gotta open their eyes & see that a lot of big time players (not just KP) would/will bristle at playing alongside a guy with a usage rate as high as Luka’s. It takes a veteran guy to be able to sacrifice like that & KP wasn’t able to do it. John Collins in Atlanta is a prime example of the opposite
Can’t compare Collins to KP. Different players different game. Not a big fan of either honestly. But that’s a nice outing for KP. I still don’t get why he hasn’t put on weight. Or why they don’t make him. It’s a lot to invest in a player you know will be on injury list every yr. At his size and mobility he has to play C.
Truth is Wizards talked smack about Dinwiddie before the TD. I ready stories that he was still injured. That ge hasn’t healed. And that ge was a shell of himself. I mean stories rumors from team. According to writers who cover them. That he was finished. Seems too strong not to be true. Makes no sense bad mouthing a guy who gave you what you asked if him. I still wish Knicks would of signed him.