According to a late Wednesday report from ESPN, the Boston Celtics are set to acquire Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards in a three-team deal. As part of the trade, the Celtics will send Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies, who will also be involved in the transaction with Tyus Jones and draft picks.
The Wizards will receive Jones and in return, they will acquire Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala, and the 35th pick in the second round of Thursday’s NBA Draft. In addition, Boston will secure first-round picks in 2023 (the 25th pick on Thursday) and 2024 from Memphis.
This trade comes as a successful move for the Celtics, who were determined to acquire Porzingis after his standout season with the Wizards in 2022-23. Initially, trade talks involving the Celtics, Wizards, and Los Angeles Clippers were unsuccessful, but this deal salvages their efforts.
For the trade to be completed, Porzingis had to exercise the player option on the final year of his contract, which will pay him $36 million in 2023-24. Despite having the option to explore free agency, Porzingis opted to join a team with championship aspirations.
As for Marcus Smart, the Grizzlies will benefit from his exceptional defensive skills and veteran presence. His addition will strengthen their defense, and he will also serve as a starting point guard during Ja Morant’s 25-game suspension.
Meanwhile, the Wizards are continuing to reshape their roster as they prepare for a rebuild. In addition to the Porzingis trade, they recently traded Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns and have Kyle Kuzma, who is currently an unrestricted free agent. It’s also possible that they could trade Chris Paul, whom they acquired from Phoenix in the Beal deal.