Reports of a potential blockbuster trade which would send Wizards star Kristaps Porzingis to the Celtics emerged on Wednesday evening. Frameworks of a three-team deal involving Boston, Washington, and the Clippers surfaced ahead of Thursday’s NBA draft, however, it seems the negotiations hit a snare.
The three-team deal has fallen apart, with the deadline for Porzingis for his $36 million option for next season coming at midnight, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday evening.
Per Wojnarowski, the Wizards are still trying to trade Porzingis to Boston.
If Porzingis were to opt out of the final year of his five-year, $158 million deal by midnight Wednesday night and become an unrestricted free agent, it would effectively blow any potential trade.
In the previously reported trade, which has now seemingly fallen through, the Clippers would send Marcus Morris, Amir Coffey, and the No. 30 pick to the Wizards, while Malcolm Brogdon would head from Boston to Los Angeles, and Porzingis would join the Celtics.
According to NBA correspondent Marc Stein, concerns over Brogdon’s injury status caused the Clippers to back out of the trade.
Wojnarowski indicated that Boston and Washington are working to reach an agreement before midnight’s deadline on Porzingis’s player option.
