Porzingis says he’s at about 60 to 65 percent of his potential originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
For all the Wizards expected of and learned about their big trade deadline acquisition, there still remains so much unknown about what the future holds.
Kristaps Porzingis played 17 games in Washington after being acquired from Dallas at the trade deadline in a move that sent Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans to Texas. In return, the Wizards got the 7-foot-3 Latvian big who struggled to stay on the floor — but boasted a high ceiling when he did.
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Porzingis first played on March 6 against the Pacers but was held out for the remaining two games of the season and turned his focus toward the offseason. His impact on the court in D.C. has lasted just over a month, but he never played with Bradley Beal after the star guard was out for the season after wrist surgery. His time with a fully healthy Wizards lineup that included Kyle Kuzma was limited.
And feeling healthy, he’s hopeful that a productive offseason leading into a strong 2022-23 season is in the cards.
“I think I am about, I would say, 60%, 65% of my potential where I can be, so I still have a good way to go — that’s how I look at it,” Porzingis said last week. “For me, it’s going to be continuity. Health, continuity on the court and I feel like that’s going to take me to the place where I want it to be.”
Porzingis averaged 22.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game as a Wizard and slowly felt more and more integrated into the lineup as the season went along.
“I think this period of time has really been good for me just to get back in feeling the ball a lot...” Porzingis said. “Getting real comfortable out there again, I haven’t felt that for a while. For me, that’s important and that’s going to be important for me going into next season.”
Health has always been a concern with Porzingis, but headed into the offseason feeling good, he’s confident of what he can accomplish. He’ll spend the beginning part of his summer in Spain where he’ll train before he returns to Latvia when the weather turns for the best.
Besides staying healthy, he referenced that he wants to clean up his 3-point shooting. Despite finishing his final five games with a 53.8% clip from beyond the arc, he started his first 12 games in D.C. by shooting just 28.3% from deep. That, he hopes, can help elevate his game to the level he wants.
And, naturally, he’ll keep some things he wants to work on a secret too.
When Porzingis returns in the fall, the goal for Porzingis will be to fill out the remaining potential he can and, for the team, start a push for the playoffs.
While he remarked it’s hard to tell what goals could or should be without seeing what the team will look like on the floor first, a look around the room at players under contract has him feeling good about himself and the future of the team.
“At least if you look at the names, that’s a playoff team,” Porzingis said. “Has to be a playoff team. But it depends. There’s a lot of factors that go into that. I don’t want to promise anything because there’s not only three or four guys, but the whole group is important. But just based off of that, that would definitely be something we should aim for.”
