The Celtics and Wizards are finalizing a trade which will send Kristaps Porzingis to Boston, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
After previous reports indicated a three-team deal involving the Clippers had fallen through, Washington and the Celtics worked up against a midnight ET deadline in order to find a new arrangement.
The new trade reportedly involves the Grizzlies as the facilitating third team, and will see Tyus Jones dealt to the Wizards.
As part of the trade, longtime Celtics guard Marcus Smart will reportedly be traded to Memphis, where he figures to serve as the team’s starting point guard amid Ja Morant’s 25-game suspension to start the season. Smart had spent his entire nine-year career in Boston.
Porzingis, who is due $36 million in 2023-24, had until midnight to make a decision on the player option in his contract. With the trade set to go through, the 27-year-old will opt into the final year of his five-year, $158 million deal and make the move to Boston. Porzingis averaged 23.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game last season while shooting at a 38.5% clip from three-point range.
Wojnarowski reported that trade will also see the Grizzlies send both a 2023 and ’24 first-round pick to the Celtics, including the No. 25 pick in Thursday’s draft. The ’24 first-round pick comes via the Warriors.
In all, the Celtics are acquiring Porzingis, the No. 25 pick, and a 2024 first-round selection in the trade. The Grizzlies will add Smart, while the Wizards walk away with Jones, Mike Muscala, Danilo Gallinari, and the No. 35 pick in the 2023 NBA draft.
