Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic will bring out the best in each other

For a generational playmaker like Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis is the perfect running mate.

He is called "The Unicorn" for a reason: Players like Porzingis simply don't exist. He's a mobile 7-foot-3 shot-blocker who can also bomb away from 35 feet. He is the second coming of Dirk Nowitzki if No. 41 also played defense - Nowitzki himself has even admitted Porzingis is "way ahead of the curve."

Porzingis is exactly the type of cornerstone you would want beside a talent like Doncic. They have complementary skill sets, they compensate for each other's weaknesses, and they're both under team control for the foreseeable future. Doncic and Porzingis will be the future of the Mavericks, and they'll bring the best out of each other.

Here's the fundamental issue defenses will encounter: Doncic and Porzingis will pull two bigs to the perimeter, leaving the paint open.

Doncic can create his own shot at every area on the floor and can throw just about every pass in the book, and Porzingis is comfortable scoring inside the paint or on the perimeter. Bigs will inevitably be drawn out of their comfort zones. That will create easy opportunities for other Mavericks to make basket cuts, and for Doncic and Porzingis to drive unhindered toward the rim.

Doncic is already making it work with lesser talent. He shows maturity beyond his years and is capable of bending and stretching the defense before splitting the seam with incisive passes. Opponents are trapping him at the 3-point line for fear of his pull-up three.

Now just imagine if that was a 7-foot-3 center in Porzingis rolling to the rim instead of 6-foot-8 power forward Dwight Powell. Porzingis would be an easy target, and trapping wouldn't be a viable option because he could slip free and get an open jumper. Doncic could easily rank top five in assists just off the two-man game with his new teammate.

Defenses might ultimately opt to switch - which was the go-to strategy against Nowitzki - but that creates another set of problems. Porzingis has the length to shoot over any wing player in the league, and Doncic has the handle to flat-out embarrass big men on switches:

Playing off Doncic should also help Porzingis become more efficient. Surprisingly, Porzingis failed to shoot better than 45 percent over his first three seasons, which speaks to his situation in New York more than anything else. Porzingis had to force his offense with the Knicks, and that led him to chuck away from mid-range. His efficiency metrics will naturally rise when he suits up alongside a legitimate point guard who will get him open looks. Porzingis shot 42 percent on catch-and-shoot threes last season and hit 70 percent within the restricted area.

He will return the favor by helping compensate for Doncic on the defensive end. Doncic has been better than advertised in that department, but he is far from a shutdown defender. His best defensive asset is his size, and although he's been able to hold his ground and funnel attackers into help, a rapidly aging DeAndre Jordan hasn't provided him with much cover this season. Porzingis, who averages two blocks per game over his career, will do the job that Jordan couldn't.

There's still the issue of convincing Porzingis to stay, but that shouldn't worry the Mavericks too much.

First, leaving would be a ridiculous decision from a financial standpoint. Porzingis reportedly plans to accept his $4.5-million qualifying offer to become unrestricted in 2020, but that smacks of free-agency posturing more than anything else. Given the Mavericks surrendered two picks and took on $49 million in future salary, odds are good they'll pay something close to the $150-million max to retain Porzingis. And if that's the case, would he really turn down an additional $145 million in guaranteed money for the chance to choose his own future?

Second, Porzingis is going to realize that Dallas isn't New York. He's coming from the worst organization in all of pro sports to one of the winningest teams in the NBA over the past two decades. Taking the qualifying offer to escape New York is understandable, but Dallas will give him every reason to stay.

To put his past into perspective: Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks in assists when Porzingis was a rookie. Brandon Jennings and Jarrett Jack held that title in the two years thereafter. He's trading that to suit up alongside Doncic for the next decade.

Porzingis is also going to play for a championship-level coach in Rick Carlisle after the Knicks shuffled through four coaches in his three years. It started with Derek Fisher, who had no coaching experience but was instructed to run a highly outdated triangle offense. When Fisher couldn't cut it, he was replaced by a Phil Jackson puppet in Kurt Rambis, who briefly toyed with the idea of deploying the 7-foot-3 center as a small forward. Then Jeff Hornacek came along and lasted all of two years before David Fizdale.

Dallas also offers no state income tax, warm weather year-round, stable ownership, and competent management. The Mavericks have a reputation as one of the most player-friendly organizations in the league. On top of all that, he'll have his childhood idol Nowitzki convincing him to stay. Porzingis isn't going to be able to turn that down - he's going to stay and form a dynastic duo with Doncic.