As surprising as it was for Maverick fans to find out that Kristaps Porzingis was coming to Dallas, it was just as surprising to at least one player who will be joining forces with the 7-3 newcomer.

J.J. Barea said he was caught off guard by the trade that sent Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews and DeAndre Jordan for Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Trey Burke and Courtney Lee. Not by the fact that there was a deal. But by the number of assets involved on both ends.

“I was surprised how quick it happened and that it came out of nowhere,” Barea said Friday. “I knew something was going to happen. I didn’t know it was going to be all three of them. I thought maybe it would be Wes and Junior. But at different times. But this, to have an opportunity to get a guy like Porzingis, it’s unbelievable.”

The overwhelming consensus is that Porzingis should be a great fit for the Mavericks. There are elements of risk, of course. There are with any trade.

But the combination of Porzingis, at age 23, with Luka Doncic, at 19, seems like a great young combo to build around and Barea believes future additions to the roster are on the way,

“He’s the perfect guy for this system, for this town,” Barea said. “They’ve seen it before. He’s never going to be as good as No. 41 (Dirk Nowitzki). But if it gets close, we’re good.

“There’s going to be people that want to come play with them (Porzingis and Doncic). And Hardaway is going to help next to those two. He’s athletic and fast.”

Like everybody else, Barea couldn’t help himself comparing Porzingis to a younger Nowitzki. Barea said that a dinner is planned for this weekend with him and other Mavericks joining their incoming teammates.

“Porzingis is like the perfect fit for us,” he said. “It’s like having a younger version and taller version of Dirk again. Him and Luka are almost the same age, almost from the same place (Latvia and Slovenia), the high pick and pop for two athletic guys like that? It’s going to be awesome.

“I can’t wait to run the high pick-and-roll with him. I hope he learns to set a screen like Dirk. He’s a great screener on the angles. And it’ll be great to have Dirk is around to help him.”

Share and comment

More Mavs News