The Washington Wizards will have to wait for the team debut of Kristaps Porzingis. Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. provided an update on the newly acquired center Thursday, per NBC Sports’ Chase Hughes.
Porzingis has been ruled out of Friday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs with a bone bruise in his right knee. It’s an injury he suffered while with the Dallas Mavericks. He last played in a game on Jan. 29. Friday will be his 11th straight game missed.
Unseld said on Wednesday, Porzingis will need to progress to 3-on-3 and eventually 5-on-5 full contact activities before the 7-foot-3 center could make his Wizards’ debut. Unfortunately, he was unable to progress in Thursday’s practice.
The Wizards acquired Porzingis on Feb. 10 in a trade. Washington traded Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans for Porzingis and a protected second-round draft pick. Porzingis has already missed three games since the trade to the Wizards.
It’s understanding the Wizards want to take every precaution on Porzingis. However, his injury history makes his latest injury concerning to onlookers. Since tearing his ACL in 2018, Porzingis has been riddled by injuries in the past five seasons.
His injuries and lack of chemistry with Luka Doncic are reasons why the Mavericks were eager to move on from Porzingis. Just as the Wizards were quick to offload the bad contracts of Dinwiddie and Bertans, the team now has to look on with concern about the health of its newest addition.
