The Dallas Mavericks hoped they were putting together a superstar duo when they put Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic together. While the pair haven’t been bad, the fit both on and off the court clearly hasn’t been seamless.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban admitted Thursday in an appearance on 105.3 The Fan’s “K&C Masterpiece” that there are some “dust-ups” between Doncic and Porzingis, but it’s not something that worries Cuban.
“On the court they are fine,” Cuban said, via Mike Fisher of SI. “That’s not to say their aren’t dust-ups, because there are. I’d compare it to Jet and Dirk.”
Cuban remembered that 16 years ago, he paired point guard Jason Terry with star Dirk Nowitzki. The two initially did not get along at all, but ultimately won a title together and became good friends.
“Coaches coach, and coach (Rick Carlisle) kind of runs the show,” Cuban added. “So everything gets worked out on the court. … KP and Luka get along fine. It’s just that they’re different people. They like to do different things.”
It’s not necessarily a problem if Doncic and Porzingis aren’t close. Combined, they’re averaging 49.1 points and 17.3 rebounds per game for the Mavericks, who are in the running for a play-in spot at the moment. On the other hand, there are reports that the team has checked in on the trade value of one of them. In the end, it may not be a marriage that works long-term.
