Boston is finalizing a deal to send star centre Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team trade, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.
Atlanta will also get a second-round pick from the Celtics in the deal. Terance Mann and the Hawks’ No. 22 pick will head to the Brooklyn Nets, while the Celtics will receive Georges Niang and a second-round pick.
The reported deal comes just one day after the Celtics shipped starting point guard Jrue Holiday off to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Despite helping the Celtics to an NBA Championship in 2024, Porzingis will head out the door as the team heads toward a retooling in the wake of the Achilles injury to Jayson Tatum.
In an effort to reduce expenditures for the future, Boston will get rid of Porzingis’ $30.7 million salary next season. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.
The 29-year-old struggled with injuries in his second year with the Celtics, suiting up for only 42 regular-season games but averaging 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 48.3 per cent from the field and a career-high 41.2 per cent from three-point range.
His health caught up to him even more in the playoffs, however, as an undisclosed illness held him to 7.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 21.0 minutes per game through 11 contests. Porzingis struggled mightily in the second round against the Knicks, with the Celtics eventually losing 4-2.
The seven-foot-two Latvian big joined the Celtics ahead of the 2023-24 season in a trade from the Washington Wizards. He signed a two-year, $60 million contract with Boston that same summer.
Originally drafted by the Knicks fourth overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, Porzingis has played stints with the Dallas Mavericks, Wizards and Celtics over the course of his 10-year NBA career. He was named an all-star for the first and only time in the 2017-18 campaign while still a member of the Knicks.
