After weeks of rumors, the Boston Celtics have parted ways with Kristaps Porzingis.
Earlier this week, the Celtics dealt Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for Anfernee Simons and a pair of second-round picks. That move clears $4.7 million in salary for Boston. In order to continue clearing money, it’s imperative the franchise parts ways with expensive assets like Porzingis.
“Porzingis I definitely think that they are in discussions with. And again, you can’t just trade him off, they would be trading him for a player, probably who makes less money,” ESPN insider Brian Windhorst said on Tuesday. “They would need someone to sort of be a big man, starting-level big man for Porzingis if they made this deal. But look for a Porzingis thing.”
It didn’t take long for Windhorst’s comments about Porzingis to age well.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Celtics are trading away Porzingis in a three-team deal that involves the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets.
Here’s a breakdown of the trade:
- Celtics receive: Georges Niang and a second-round pick
- Hawks receive: Kristaps Porzingis and a second-round pick
- Nets receive: Terance Mann and Atlanta’s No. 22 pick
With Porzingis out of the picture, the focus now shifts over to Derrick White and Jaylen Brown. Windhorst claims the Celtics don’t want to trade either player, but they’ll most likely listen to offers.
“As for the other two star players, I don’t think Derrick White and Jalen Brown are players that they want to trade. Having said that, if somebody calls with a gigantic offer, I think that they would have to discuss it,” Windhorst said.
Charania added that teams have shown interest in Brown, which makes sense considering he’s a proven All-Star.
We’ll see if the Celtics continue trading away key players from last year’s championship roster.