Trade & FA 2023-24: Stein-Ingram Trade Inevitable| LAL Want Lebron Back On Any Terms

[dirkfansince1998]

I think young Luka wasn't willing to adjust his game to the presence of another star who needed the ball some on offense.  Luka had always been the sun and everything had always revolved around him.

I think Porzingis thought of himself as the unicorn at the time and wanted to be treated as such.  That didn't work out next to Luka.  The Celtics version of Porzingis is pretty phenomenal.  

I think they both required some maturity and experience.  I think if you brought Porzingis back now it would work much better.  

Dinwiddie is a decent player.  It's crazy we traded Porzingis for a decent player and one of the league's worst contracts and we still included a draft asset.  Cuban must have been using a psychedelic when he approved that trade.

KP has accepted a "lesser" role in Boston. They have Tatum and behind him it is another guy stepping up and getting his opportunities each game. KP isn't creating as much for himself. Mostly finishing plays (catch and shoot, pick and roll, mismatches with deep post position).
But one thing didn't change. He already missed nine games and the Celtics didn't look any worse without him (7-2).

We also shouldn't forget that the Mavs improved after the KP trade. SD had a phenomenal run to close out the season (including multiple game winners) and Brunson looked like a legit 2nd option. Don't think they make the WCF run with KP.
As you already stated the Celtics didn't pay all that much for KP. Looking at the trade he was worth less than Marcus Smart. Now he is in the perfect spot to hide his short comings. Surrounded by four all-defense level perimeter defenders. Something the Mavs never had. Certainly don't have right now. He wouldn't look as good if teams could still target him in the pick and roll (remains to be seen if they find a way to do it in the playoffs).