Kristaps Porzingis Reportedly Expected to Make Wizards Debut vs. Pacers

Kristaps Porzingis is reportedly expected to make his Washington Wizards debut Sunday against the Indiana Pacers.

According to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, the expectation is that Porzingis will be available Sunday as long as things go well during the shootaround.

Hughes added that Porzingis was a full participant in practice Saturday for the first time since joining the Wizards.

Porzingis, who was acquired by Washington from the Dallas Mavericks last month, has not played since Jan. 29 because of a knee injury.

Dallas made a somewhat surprising move prior to the trade deadline by moving the player it had acquired from the New York Knicks in 2019 with an eye toward making him Luka Doncic's primary running mate.

After parts of the three seasons with the Mavs, Porzingis was traded to Washington in a deal that returned Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.

The 7'3" Porzingis has been a productive player when healthy during his seven-year NBA career, but durability is a major issue.

He has never appeared in more than 72 games in a single season, and he has played in fewer than 60 games in each of the past five campaigns, including missing the entire 2018-19 season with a torn ACL.

In 34 games this season, the 26-year-old power forward is averaging 19.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.4 three-pointers made per contest, while shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 28.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Porzingis was named an All-Star for the first and only time in his career with the Knicks in 2017-18, and he continued to put up strong numbers during his time in Dallas.

In 134 regular-season games as a member of the Mavs, Porzingis owned averages of 20.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.1 three-pointers made, 1.8 assists and 1.7 blocks per contest.

If Porzingis can remain healthy for the remainder of the regular season, he represents a massive addition to the Wizards' lineup.

Washington has largely struggled this season, but it is in 11th place in the Eastern Conference at 28-34 and is just two games out of a spot in the postseason play-in tournament.

Adding Porzingis to a core that includes Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rui Hachimura, Daniel Gafford and Deni Avdija could make the Wizards a threat to sneak into the playoffs even without star guard Bradley Beal, who is out for the remainder of the season.

Ultimately, acquiring Porzingis was likely a move meant to help convince Beal to re-sign with the Wizards, and if Porzingis plays at a high level the rest of the way this season, Washington may be able to accomplish that mission.