Report: Celtics acquire Kristaps Porzingis from Wizards in 3-way trade that sends Marcus Smart to Grizzlies
Kristaps Porzingis to the Boston Celtics is back on.
After a deal involving the Los Angeles Clippers fell through, the Celtics and Washington Wizards worked out a deal including the Memphis Grizzlies to send the 7-foot-3 power forward/center to Boston ahead of a Wednesday night deadline, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
The Celtics will send point guard Marcus Smart to Memphis, while the Wizards will receive Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones in the deal. The Grizzlies are also sending the 25th pick (first round) of Thursday's NBA Draft and an additional first-round pick (via Golden State) in the 2024 draft to Boston.
The Celtics are trading the 35th pick in Thursday's draft, Mike Muscala and Danilo Gallinari to the Wizards. Porzingis agreed to opt into his $36 million player option next season to make the trade happen.
The Grizzlies acquire Smart knowing they'll be without suspended All-Star Ja Morant for the first 25 games of the 2023-24 season. News of the trade broke shortly after Wojnarowski reported the dissolution of a proposed three-way trade involving the Clippers.
Porzingis will join a Celtics team that finished second in the Eastern Conference during the regular season and lost to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. After consecutive trips to the conference finals that included an NBA Finals appearance in 2022, Boston is looking to get over the hump to an NBA championship.
Porzingis, 27, averaged 23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 blocks last season while shooting 49.8% from the field and 38.5% from 3-point distance in 65 games. His scoring average was a career high, eclipsing the 22.7 ppg from his only All-Star campaign in 2017-18 with the New York Knicks.
Porzingis offers versatility on offense and a defensive presence capable of altering shots on the perimeter and in the post. He joins a Celtics front line that features veteran starter Al Horford and 2021-22 All-Defensive Team center Robert Williams III alongside All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum.
Earlier Wednesday, Wojnarowski and The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that the Celtics, Wizards and Clippers were closing in on a three-way trade that ultimately didn't come to fruition. Per the initial reported parameters, the Wizards would have received Marcus Morris and the No. 30 pick in Thursday's draft from Los Angeles, while Boston would have sent Malcolm Brogdon to the Clippers.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported that the Clippers' injury concerns around Brogdon led to the collapse of the trade.
The Clippers would also have sent wing Amir Coffey to Washington, and the Celtics would have sent Gallinari to the Wizards in the deal, per Wojnarowski.