Why Celtics Need To Move Quickly In Pursuit Of Kristaps Porzingis

As the Celtics appear to be moving closer to a three-team trade involving the Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers, the clubs will need to expedite the trade because of Kristaps Porzingis.

Porzingis, after all, needs to exercise his $36 million player option by the end of the day, as pointed out to The Athletic’s John Holliger.

On Bos-Was-LAC potential three-way deal reported by @ShamsCharania

* Porzingis needs to opt in by end of day. Possible to opt-in-extend-and-trade
* LAC needs to add one small salary (Preston or Boston?)
* LAC pick could be in 2028, or #30 tomorrow
* WAS would generate ~10M TPE

— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) June 21, 2023

According to The Athletic, the three-team trade would send Porzingis to Boston while Malcolm Brogdon would then be traded from the Celtics to the Clippers and Washington would receive Marcus Morris and draft compensation.

If the trade is completed, the Celtics would be able to intact Porzingis’s Bird Rights, which allows Boston to offer the center a larger contract in order to retain him.

The risk Boston would be taking on Porzingis is his injury history. The 7-foot-3 big man has missed at least 15 games each season since he was drafted fourth overall in the 2015 draft and missed the entire 2018-19 season due to a torn ACL.

In the 2022-23 season, Porzingis averaged 23.2 points, 2.7 assists and 8.4 rebounds in 65 games for Washington.

Porzingis originally expressed his interest to stay with Washington, but following the Wizards’ blockbuster trade sent Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns, it’s clear the team is headed for a rebuild, making sense for Porzingis to move on as well.