Hours after a three-team deal fell through and the Washington Wizards took on Kristaps Porziņģis’ player option period, the Boston Celtics finally managed to get their Big Man upgrade … and bid farewell to Marcus Smart.
This trade sees Porziņģis, the 25th pick in Thursday’s draft and a 2024 first-round pick (via Golden State), going to Bost0n; Smart going to the Memphis Grizzlies; and the Wizards added Tyus Jones, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala and the 35th pick in Thursday’s draft.
Earlier in the day, Porziņģis was thought to be heading to Boston, with Malcolm Brogdon going to the Clippers and Washington receiving Marcus Morris Sr. and the 30th pick in the draft. The deal fell through and it is believed to be about Brogdon’s injury status, as first reported by NBA reporter Marc Stein.
ESPN and The Boston Globe first reported on the details of the revised three-team deal.
Now that the dust has settled (we think), let’s erase the red ink!
Boston Celtics take on Kristaps Porzingis, the 25th pick in 2023 and a first-round pick in 2024
What are the Celtics’ plans for Porziņģis? That was my first thought when I saw this trading news. Is this a short term game Or will we see an expansion? offered, who could lower his salary after this season, but give him security in the long term? The fit of Porziņģis upfront has great potential, but with Porziņģis we often feel that way. He is extremely tall, has a large wingspan, is quite agile, and is exceptionally agile for a nine-foot-tall man.
Check out his numbers after leaving Dallas. In 82 games with the Wizards, Porzingis averaged 22.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 blocks with 49.3/38.2/85.5 shot splits. This corresponds to a hit rate of 62.2 percent. That’s incredibly efficient. He’s turned into a pretty solid rebounder, he can protect quite a bit on the edge, and he’s got a great outside shot.
Integrating that into what the Celtics are doing isn’t difficult. That means Al Horford (37) can step back in the rotation if needed or play alongside Porziņģis if Robert Williams III is unavailable. They could also bring Porziņģis off the bench as a super sixth man alongside Brogdon.
You can direct offense through him in the second unit, or he can play third fiddle alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as an expert pick-and-pop. He can camp in the corner and spread the ground. And defensively, he can be a good defender as long as he’s able to take the physical toll that comes with a fairly tough and active defensive system.
The Celtics have options as long as Porziņģis is healthy and that’s the part that might worry you. Since the cruciate ligament injury that cost him well over 100 games from 2017-19, Porziņģis has missed 95 games in four seasons. That’s a lot of wasted time. On a year-long lease, even at $36 million, that’s a risk to take given the strength of the Celtics.
That they went up 10 spots this draft and got a first-round pick in next year’s draft is pretty ridiculous.
Grade: A
Memphis Grizzlies take over Marcus Smart
With Jones out and the Grizzlies knowing that Ja Morant will miss the first 25 games of next season, they’ve been doing pretty well. Keep in mind that under no circumstances is Dillon Brooks coming back, so the Grizzlies needed some help in the backcourt. Smart is a great upgrade on the Guard position, especially when Morant is back. He can be a dog defensively, but not in a way that ends up hurting the team.
Smart is a solid offensive option capable of pick and rolls. While Morant is away, he can do whatever Memphis wants to do and then easily play alongside him when everything is back to normal. It hurts to give up your first-round pick and a future pick along with Jones, but the Grizzlies have a chance to be a lot more stable once the dust settles. Smart has three years left on his contract, so there’s no risk of losing him anytime soon.
They gave up a lot but this is still a solid trade.
Grade B
The Washington Wizards sign Tyus Jones, Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala for the 35th pick of the 2023 draft
I absolutely hated what the Wizards did when they agreed to a trade with Bradley Beal. I had no problem with the decision to move him, but the return was subpar at best. You have to pray things fail whenever the pick swaps come into play for her and Phoenix. Or maybe they’ll snag a decent player with the second-round picks they got.
This deal is technically better, but still confusing. I liked it better earlier in the day when it looked like Washington might get LA’s 30th pick, but let’s take a closer look.
Jones is an interesting candidate and the Wizards get their 35th pick of the draft. They may not know that they are allowed to ask for first-round picks on trades. Jones is arguably the best backup point guard in basketball, and last month there were some rumors that he might be looking to leave Memphis for a chance to play in the starting XI. He’ll get that chance with the Wizards because he’ll immediately become the top point guard on the roster (let’s assume Chris Paul goes elsewhere). No offense to Monté Morris who is an excellent replacement.
Jones is brilliant at managing a team: lots of assists, low turnovers and he can score a little too. He competes on defense but is undersized. He’ll be a good player for the Wizards while they have him, but he could be a moving asset until the close. His contract runs for another year, then he’s a free agent. I still don’t understand how the Wizards got zero first-round picks (swaps don’t count) by swapping their top two players regardless of contract or no-trade clause situations. If Jones leaves next summer or they don’t trade him, it will be a worse deal for them. It makes no sense for Boston to get the picks the Wizards should have gotten.
Note: C
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(Photo by Kristaps Porziņģis and Marcus Smart: Nick Grace / Getty Images)