The Boston Celtics could use frontcourt depth this offseason. How about a 7-foot-3 big man who can shoot threes?
Boston is pursuing Washington Wizards star Kristaps Porzingis and has “been in discussions on a potential framework” for an opt-in-and-trade deal involving the veteran forward, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday.
UPDATE (3:30 p.m. ET): The Celtics, Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers are in “strong talks” on a three-team trade that would send Porzingis to Boston, Malcolm Brogdon to Los Angeles and Marcus Morris to Washington, Charania reports. The deal is considered a “high possibility,” per Charania, with Boston potentially including Danilo Gallinari and his $6.8 million expiring contract in the trade.
In a sign-and-trade scenario, Porzingis would opt in to his $36 million player option with Washington for the 2023-24 season, then be dealt to the Celtics, where he’d be on an expiring contract.
It’s unclear what Boston would have to part with to land the 27-year-old, but one package that would work from a financial perspective could involve guard Malcolm Brogdon ($22.5 million cap hit for 2023-24) and big man Danilo Gallinari, who just exercised his $6.8 million player option. Our Chris Forsberg also wondered if a third team could be involved in a Porzingis-to-Boston deal.
Porzingis is coming off a very strong 2022-23 campaign in which he averaged 23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game for the Wizards while shooting 38.5 percent from 3-point range. He’d give the Celtics a much-needed offensive boost in the frontcourt and a legitimate third scorer to pair with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
The biggest drawback with Porzingis, of course, is his injury history: The No. 4 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft has missed at least 15 games in every season since his rookie year and missed the entire 2018-19 campaign due to a torn ACL.
Still, the Celtics should all-in on winning Banner 18 in 2023-24, so it’s worth at least pursuing a player of Porzingis’ caliber.
