DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The Dallas Mavericks have gauged the trade market for Kristaps Porzingis, according to Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer.
"They've definitely sniffed around on him," an assistant general manager told B/R. "They're taking the temperature, because they know at some point it's gonna come around."
And then there's this:
“They’ve kicked the tires on everybody on their roster that’s not named Luka (Doncic),” a league source told B/R. “You know Donnie (Nelson); they’re always tinkering.”
Porzingis has struggled to find consistency on the floor since his return from offseason surgery to repair a torn meniscus. He has appeared in just 17 of the team's 29 games and missed Monday's win over the Grizzlies with a stiff back.
He has, however, shown signs of picking up steam recently, averaging nearly 23 points per game in the month of February on 50 percent shooting from the field and 42.3 percent from three-point range.
Fischer joined Shan and RJ on Tuesday morning to discuss his report. In the interview, Fischer expanded on the story by saying that Porzingis is "no longer untouchable."
"There seems to be a growing sentiment around the NBA that based off of his current recovery from his meniscus injury, he's just not currently billing to be the No. 2 option on a championship team they thought they originally had," Fischer said.
As for what the Mavericks could get in a trade for the 25-year-old right now? Fischer says the perception around the NBA is that he's "damaged goods" and "looks stiff and slow" on the defensive end.
"I don't know what they could get for him right now at this current level because there's a ton of money and three years left on that contract. The injury history is mounting and scary. And unless they find a team like a Chicago or Charlotte ... some team that's young ... that are kind of around the playoff picture, that's willing to take the same gamble Dallas once did on Porzingis, they're going to find a troubling time to find value for what they paid him a couple years ago when they brought him to Dallas."
Watch the interview in the video above or listen to the audio below.