The Celtics have agreed to a three-team blockbuster trade, including the Wizards and Grizzlies, that will send Kristaps Porzingis to Boston. Here are the details of the move:
Boston Receives:
Kristaps Porzingis
2023 First-Round Pick – 25th overall (Memphis)
2024 First-Round Pick (Golden State – Top Four Protected)
Washington Receives:
2023 Second-Round Pick – 35th overall (Boston)
Tyus Jones
Danilo Gallinari
Mike Muscala
Memphis Receives:
Marcus Smart
Boston finished the 2022-2023 regular season with a 57-25 record, good for second place in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics then saw their playoff run cut short in the conference finals by the Miami Heat after a near-historic comeback attempt.
Porzingis averaged 23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game last season with a struggling Wizards team. The former New York Knick adds length to a C’s frontcourt that has struggled at times with an injury-prone Robert Williams III.
Marcus Smart, the 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, will leave a void at the point guard position. Smart averaged 11.5 points, 6.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in 2022-2023.
Brad Stevens has had a history of successful trade acquisitions since moving from the sidelines to the front office in 2021. The most notable of these moves was for Derrick White, just before the 2022 trade deadline. White has since become an integral part of the Celtics, averaging 12.4 points per game last season and beating the buzzer in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals on the brink of elimination.
The trade also solidifies that the Tatum-Brown duo will remain intact for at least one more season after trade talk dominated the media this offseason. With 123 days until the start of the NBA season, there will be plenty of time for more roster changes, but you have to think this move solidifies the Celtics as the favorite to win the Eastern Conference.
