Kristaps Porzingis speaks out on Grant Williams' struggles this season

Grant Williams joined the Dallas Mavericks during the offseason, but his tenure with the Western Conference franchise was short-lived. He struggled to gel with the team and to produce consistently. As such, the Mavericks traded him to the Charlotte Hornets as part of the P.J. Washington deal at the Feb. 8 trade deadline.

Williams has been thriving since moving to his hometown team. After the Boston Celtics secured a 118-104 win over the Hornets on Monday, Kristaps Porzingis shared his thoughts on Williams' resurgence with Charlotte. Porzingis also had a difficult tenure with the Mavericks before moving to the Washington Wizards.

“When my situation was happening, I thought Washington would be a decent place for me before even the trade happened,” Porzingis said. “But it was definitely a good situation for me to bounce back now from that time in Dallas, which kind of left like a bad reputation for me a little bit. … And I think in Grant’s situation, it can also help him to build his game back up a little bit and he’s already feeling good. He’s having a bigger role and he’ll be good.”

Porzingis likely understands how quickly your reputation around the NBA can be tarnished. His similarly rough stretch with Dallas coincided with some poor performances. It wasn't until he was with the Wizards that he began to prove himself again and rebuild his value around the NBA. Williams will now have to do the same thing.

Fortunately for the former Celtics forward, he has hit the ground running. In the 24 games Williams has played for the Hornets, he's averaging 13.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, shooting 49.8% from the field and 34.9% from 3-point range.

With a bigger role and more opportunity, Williams will likely thrive with the Hornets and continue to develop. Charlotte is a young team full of exciting talent, and Williams has landed in a good spot for his career to continue developing. Porzingis got his career back on track, and now Williams hopes to work off the same blueprint.