Unique Opportunity Ahead For Wizards And Kristaps Porzingis

Former All-Star Kristaps Porzingis, acquired at the trade deadline from the Dallas Mavericks, opened up his Wizards tenure with an impressive 25-point performance in just 21 minutes of playing time.

Washington marks the third team for the 7’3 Latvian, whose presence is going to make the Wizards an intriguing team for next year. His current chance at occupying the lead role, with Bradley Beal out for the remainder of the season, could prove beneficial in the long run.

The fit with Beal

Porzingis has spent the past few years playing alongside Luka Dončić, a player who plays a brand of basketball that’s near heliocentric, which didn’t seem to fit Porzingis’ vision of how he could best function in an offensive system.

In Beal, a scorer by nature who’s averaged 29 points over the course of his past three seasons, the approach is different. Game plans aren’t drawn up around Beal’s ball dominance, as the All-Star guard is more keen on moving off the ball than his Dallas counterpart (60.3% of his three-pointers are assisted) which – in theory – should permit Porzingis to get more used to handling the ball and initiate plays on his own accord, similarly to how he was used as a New York Knick.

With Porzingis now given a chance to essentially get as many touches as he wants for the remainder of the season, it will re-acclimate him to holding the ball longer, instead of being used as mostly an off-ball gunner.

When Beal returns next season, he’ll return to a player in Porzingis who is more used to handle the ball for longer stretches, and has already spent time in Wes Unseld Jr’s system, picking up on the schemes.

Expanding Porzingis’ game

The one challenge the duo might be in for is mutual playmaking, or the lack thereof. Beal is handedly the better passer and play initiator, where Porzingis has always functioned more as the passing target. On a team also featuring Kyle Kuzma, who’s enjoying a breakout campaign, getting playmaking out of Porzingis would raise the offensive ceiling substantially.

While not a natural playmaker, Porzingis never got a decent shot at showing any potential growth in that area while in Dallas. For Unseld Jr and his staff, exploring some avenues in that department to get Porzingis more involved as a hub could have a positive ripple effect on the offensive flow.

With Porzingis having never cracked more than 2.0 assists per game, now would be a good time for the coaching staff to test out some new plays to determine if their new acquisition has some hidden upside in that department.

Additionally, there’s also merit in turning more of the offense over to Porzingis, even when Beal does come back. At 7’3 and with the ability to work as both a roll man or a pop big, Porzingis offers some versatility, especially when going downhill. Defenses will always prefer to keep Beal out of the paint, and it’s not uncommon for teams to send over double-teams when he does make it inside the paint.

Enter Porzingis.

With his high reach and long strides, Porzingis is the perfect counter to defenses overplaying Beal. If he steps outside to stretch the floor, he takes a fellow big man out of the paint. If he rolls hard off initial screen action, he’ll draw his defender closer in, leaving Beal with a one-on-one drive.

Those plays can also be used as decoys, setting it up as to clear space for Beal, but in reality baiting defenses into helping off Porzingis, allowing him to cut hard to the basket.

In Dallas, Porzingis’ method of use was mostly predictable, due to the nature of Dončić’s play. In Washington, the Wizards can start over and turn Porzingis into something else. Something more. They’ll need to if they has any aspirations of retaining Beal, as they currently outside the playoff picture.

This isn’t to say Porzingis doesn’t come with certain limitations. He isn’t the most nimble change-of-pace or change-of-direction player, and straight-line drives will always be a healthier option than asking him to play like Nikola Jokic or Karl-Anthony Towns, who move like guards.

Porzingis, while athletic for someone his size, simply doesn’t offer much creative movement, and that is going to have to be calculated in when the staff settles on the offense for next year.

That said, Porzingis’ baseline remains high. He can consistently score in the near-20’s, he’s surprisingly adept at getting to the free throw line, and of course he still has the ability to step outside for three-pointers that are more or less unguardable given his size.

For the Wizards, there’s a lot to work with.