Kristaps Porzingis is already getting love in his new town ... 'cause Emmitt Smith is welcoming him to Dallas with open arms ... telling TMZ Sports he's stoked for the blockbuster trade!!
K.P. -- along with Trey Burke, Courtney Lee and Tim Hardaway Jr. -- was just traded to the Mavericks in exchange for DeAndre Jordan, Dennis Smith Jr. and Wesley Matthews on Thursday.
We broke the news to the Cowboys legend at the EA Sports Madden Bowl ... and the dude is pumped about the move, to say the least.
"Anything that can improve our team is great," Smith says. "With Luka [Doncic] and the guys that we actually have that are playing right now, I'm excited for where the Mavs are trying to get to."
We also asked Emmitt if he thinks K.P. and Luka will be the next best duo since David Robinson and Tim Duncan ... you'll wanna hear what he says.