Long before he went from the New York Knicks to the Dallas Mavericks, Kristaps Porzingis‘ status was in question for 2018-19, after he suffered a torn left ACL in February 2018. He had not played since the injury, and the Knicks were set to re-evaluate him in February 2019.
The re-evaluation timetable at least hinted at Porzingis’ potential return this season, but as revealed in his introductory press conference with the Mavericks, he never planned to play, per Marc Berman of the New York Post:
“That was the plan from the beginning, and we’re sticking to the plan,” Porzingis said.