NBA Rumors: Mavs Could Replace 'Frustrated' Kristaps Porzingis With In-Demand All-Star Point Guard

The Dallas Mavericks may have identified a potential new co-star for Luka Doncic.

After two quiet seasons with the Boston Celtics, Kemba Walker is now being linked to an array of trade rumors.

The C’s are reportedly considering dealing Walker, and the four-time NBA All-Star didn’t appreciate it.

Hence, a host of NBA teams are now monitoring Walker’s situation, including the Mavs, Bleacher Report's Farbod Esnaashari reported, citing unnamed sources.

According to Esnaashari, Kristaps Porzingis is currently “frustrated” with how Dallas has been managing his playing time.

The Latvian’s situation could prompt the Mavs to “easily assimilate” Walker. International Business Times could not independently verify this information.

“A source close to Walker said he was hurt by Boston's efforts to trade him, which created a rift in the Walker-Ainge relationship,” Esnaashari wrote. “Walker has a great relationship with his teammates and looked forward to being a veteran mentor to Tatum and Brown, but the same can't be said about Walker and the front office. He no longer feels wanted.”

“Another team that could easily assimilate Walker would be the Dallas Mavericks,” he continued. “Kristaps Porzingis is reportedly frustrated with his role and was used less and less throughout the playoffs; he had a 26.5 usage rate in the regular season, and it dropped to a career-low 16.2 in the playoffs.”

Apart from the Mavs, the report added that the New York Knicks might also make a move for Walker to add “another scoring option besides Julius Randle.”

While the Mavs and Knicks are expected to pursue Walker this offseason, another report mentioned the Oklahoma City Thunder as the frontrunner to sign the 31-year-old,” per The Athletic’s Evan Massey.

“Per source, another team to monitor in the Kemba Walker, Celtics split is the Thunder,” Massey tweeted. “OKC has the flexibility to take on a bad deal and get compensated for it. Al Horford's contract could be used in this situation.”

Despite the apparent interests from a number of teams, Walker’s current contract makes it quite difficult for a trade to happen.

The Celtics are set to pay the star point guard $36 million in 2021-22. Atop that, Walker also has a player option for 2022-23 worth $37.6 million, a figure some report suggests too big for a player who hasn’t been playing at his best.

Walker, who is known for his score-first style of playing, only played 43 of the Celtics’ 72 games this season and averaged 19.3 points per game, the lowest-scoring totals since the 2014-15 campaign.