25-under-25: What should we realistically expect from Kristaps Porzingis?

We haven’t seen Kristaps Porzingis play since 2018, but the expectations for him are at an all-time high.

When the Dallas Mavericks traded for Kristaps Porzingis in February, the transaction was met with surprise, shock, excitement and then tempered anxiety. He hasn’t played in over a year, will he return to All-Star form? Will he be worth the risk? Will he be the dream pairing that we expect him to be next to reigning Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic?

These are all questions the Mavericks will have to answer, not all at once, but at some point throughout Porzingis’ time in Dallas. After signing him to a five-year deal this offseason worth $158 million, Mark Cuban and co. are telling the league that they’re here to compete not just for the 8-seed in the West, but for championships. But how will Porzingis grade out in his first season after going down with an ACL tear nearly two years ago?

Before Porzingis went down with injury he was one of the most exciting young players in the league. He’s still only 24 years old and has not unlocked his full potential, but to get back to that All-Star level is going to take a lot of patience from the Mavericks and time. Whether Cuban likes it or not, rushing along Porzingis in this first year to just fight for a bottom-rung playoff spot is not worth hindering his development.

Porzingis might be chomping at the bit to get back to basketball and ready to form one of the most formidable young duos next to Doncic, but the most important thing both sides should concern themselves with is his health. Porzingis isn’t going to come out of the gate dropping 22 points a game and grabbing six rebounds a night like he did in his All-Star season, and that’s okay.

We may not actually see what Porzingis could be on this Mavericks team until the 2020-21 season, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be completely aimless out there. It would be wise for the Mavs to put KP on a minutes restriction to start the season just to see how he’s moving on the floor and to limit any potential for giving him more work than he can handle. His Instagram may suggest he’s 100 percent ready to handle the speed of an NBA game, but no one will know that until it actually happens.

If Porzingis plays at least 60 games this season, that should be considered a win for the Mavericks. Anything more than that is obviously a plus, but with “load management” being the new buzzword around the league, and guys like Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James maneuvering the schedule so they’re not overworking their bodies in the regular season, we could see the same from Porzingis this year.

We’ve seen the Unicorn getting shots up in the gym and look hulked out in the weight room on social media, but it’s incredibly difficult to pinpoint what concrete expectations should be placed on him because there are so many unknowns around how he’ll be to start the season.

The first Doncic pass to Porzingis for a mid-range jumper or made 3-pointer will bring a lot of excitement and sigh of relief for Mavs fans knowing that he at least can still play, but it’s unrealistic to expect him to come in immediately picking up where he left of over a year ago.

Luckily for Porzingis and Dallas, they start their season against the Washington Wizards at home so it will provide a great opportunity to give fans some excitement against what will be one of the worst teams in the league.

Porzingis may take some time before he gets back to that unicorn status he earned, and while there are still a lot of question marks around what to expect from him, there’s no denying that watching him and Doncic share the floor and build chemistry on the Mavericks will be an intriguing storyline to keep an eye on throughout the season.