What does Hawks’ Kristaps Porzingis think about playing with Trae Young?

The NBA’s exhibition season is for trying new things, looking at old things and testing the limit.

So, when Hawks center Kristaps Porzingis picked up five fouls in the team’s exhibition opener Monday night, he wanted to see how far he could go.

“I was just testing the limits a little bit, like, ‘What they’re gonna call and what are they gonna not?’” said Porzingis, who joined the Hawks in the offseason. “I probably overstepped the limit a little bit too much, but that was kind of like the goal. Because I knew we weren’t gonna play the whole game. So you don’t have a lot of opportunities to be able to foul like that. So I was like, ‘I’m going to use this opportunity.’ And that was it. That was it, nothing too deep. But I was just seeing what can I get away with.”

Of course, Porzingis doesn’t want to rack up the fouls during the regular season. But after playing in EuroBasket this summer and moving to a new team, with a new system, it’s all a part of the process of getting ready for the season.

“For me, everything is new, the way we play, the pace,” Porzingis said. “So, it was just good to see, I think the first step of forming an identity as a team and also making those mistakes which are necessary in the free season that we can look at and be like, ‘Hey, we want to do this. We want to play faster here, you know, and improve.’ And I think it was a good first game, good first step for us, for the different levels that we want to get to. I was happy. I was happy with what I saw, and us started to implement what the coach wants.”

One of Porzingis’ biggest adjustments has been building chemistry with guard Trae Young. On paper, the two should present defenses with tough matchups because of their abilities to operate inside the paint and from the perimeter.

It helps that Young has been a good communicator and has endeared himself to Porzingis and his teammates.

“I think he’s a really good communicator, not only on the floor, but he’s really cool to just be around,” Porzingis said when asked of what has surprised him of playing with Young. “He’s a cool dude. He’s not playing it up. That’s who he is. You could tell he’s a high-character person. I think that’s what maybe, not surprised me, but that was, really cool to see that he’s like that. And I understand now why he’s so good. Like, based off his personality and how he carries himself. It makes sense.

“And then, of course, on the court, I already knew how he plays and what he’s capable of, but still he has those moments (where) you’re like, ‘Wow, how did he see that pass? How did he make that happen?’ Like, you have those moments, for sure, playing with him, and that’s also like a privilege for us as his teammates.”

These practices and the exhibition season have given them a chance to understand where and how the other likes to operate, as well as how it works within the flow of the game.

“We’re learning each other,” Porzingis said. “I think I’m learning Trae. Trae is learning my spots. I’m understanding how JJ (Jalen Johnson) likes to play, where he’s most effective. And we want to put each of us in the most effective spot that we can be.

“I think we mesh well as a group, as players, individual players. And just because this guy is strong in this, it doesn’t take away from the other guy. We complement each other and that’s the cool part about this team, and we’re figuring it out. I think with Coach Q (Quin Snyder) leading us, it’s been great. Honestly, it’s been great. And I love what I’m seeing. I love what I’m hearing, and it’s a matter of us to just become better and better at what he wants from us. We just keep that trajectory, we’ll be really good.”