It sounds like an old friend was ready to pounce if Kristaps Porzingis didn’t land in Boston.
The Celtics acquired the 7-foot-3 big man in a three-team sign-and-trade deal late Wednesday night, just hours before his midnight deadline to opt in to his $36 million player option with the Washington Wizards. That deadline motivated Brad Stevens and the C’s to get a deal done quickly after an initial deal involving the Los Angeles Clippers reportedly fell through — but it appears Utah Jazz CEO (and ex-Celtics president of basketball operations) Danny Ainge motivated Stevens, as well.
According to longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein, several NBA teams were “convinced” that Porzingis was “poised to receive strong free agent interest” from Ainge’s Jazz if a deal did not materialize with Boston and Porzingis became a free agent.
“The threat of losing Porzingis without compensation appears to have been sufficiently credible to add some momentum to the Wizards’ determination to finalize a trade agreement,” Stein wrote.
The Celtics’ initial trade offer for Porzingis involved sending guard Malcolm Brogdon to the Clippers, but the deal reportedly fell through due to Los Angeles’ concerns about Brogdon’s health. That set the stage for a stunner late Wednesday night, when Boston shipped nine-year veteran Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team trade to land Porzingis.
Perhaps the Celtics were committed to acquiring Porzingis anyway despite Utah’s reported interest in the Latvian big man. They also wouldn’t have been able to sign Porzingis in free agency due to salary cap restrictions, so the time to strike was Wednesday night, regardless of Ainge’s intentions. Still, it’s ironic that Stevens’ former boss was apparently next in line for Porzingis if he didn’t wind up in Boston.
Stein added that Boston was Porzingis’ “preferred destination,” and reports suggest the Celtics will attempt to offer him a contract extension this summer to keep him around past the 2023-24 season. So, it sounds like Stevens and Co. got their man.