The Dallas Mavericks are showing a ton of faith in their young star Kristaps Porzingis, who inked a five-year, $158 million max contract on Sunday.
According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, the Mavericks “did not push for any injury protection or minutes/games clauses” and are fully guaranteeing every cent of the massive contract.
This is a significant detail for a couple of big reasons.
The most obvious is that Porzingis didn’t play at all last season as he recovered from the ACL injury he suffered toward the end of the 2017-18 campaign with the New York Knicks. So, the team is showing a lot of confidence in his long-term health.
The second reason this fully-guaranteed deal is a big deal is that Porzingis has gotten some bad press the past year.
First, he was accused of rape in New York back in May. His attorney has said the woman was trying to extort him for money, but the investigation has yet to be closed.
Then, while in his home nation of Latvia, he was hit and had objects thrown at him in a bar brawl that left him bloodied.
Needless to say, the Mavericks are throwing their support behind the young star in a major way, despite some potentially significant risk involved.