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Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle heaped praise on Luka Doncic and his new teammate Kristaps Porzingis on Thursday, comparing them to a pair of future Basketball Hall of Famers.

"We obviously think Porzingis is a great young talent, similar in many ways to Dirk," Carlisle said on ESPN 103.3 FM (via Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com). "This is kind of a Dirk-and-Nash type of situation—only these guys are taller."

Nowitzki and Nash played together from 1998 to 2004, making four postseason appearances together. The Mavericks allowed Nash leave for the Phoenix Suns in free agency after the 2003-04 season due to concerns about his health. Owner Mark Cuban has said not re-signing Nash was his biggest mistake since buying the franchise.

Cuban told Kenneth Arthur of Rolling Stone in 2004:

"I learned an expensive lesson. It took me too many years to realize that for some GMs, their number-one job wasn't winning a championship, it's keeping their job. It's easy to look back and see my mistakes today. I wish I would have been smart enough to know better back then. I loved taking risks to win. Unfortunately some of them were not as educated as they should have been."

Doncic has lapped the competition in the Rookie of the Year race and was considered perhaps the biggest snub left off the 2019 All-Star roster that was revealed Thursday. He's averaging 20.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists, numbers that put his season among the greatest rookie years in league history.

Porzingis is recovering from an ACL tear he suffered last February, and it's unlikely he'll play this season. His pick-and-pop brilliance should mark a seamless fit with Doncic's passing ability and intelligence while stretching the floor.