How Will Kristaps Porzingis Fit On the Boston Celtics?

The Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, and Washington Wizards recently dominated the NBA headlines after it was reported that they were working out a deal before draft night. While the trade has not been finalized and some more pieces could end up being traded, the framework of the deal will send Kristaps Porzingis to the Celtics, Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari to the Clippers, and Marcus Morris, Amir Coffey, and the 30th overall pick to the Wizards.

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If not much changes from the original framework of the deal that has been reported, the Celtics come out of the trade as the clear winners. For this deal to work, Porzingis will opt into his $36 million player option, then be traded to Boston.

While Portzingis has gone under the radar since joining the Wizards in the 2021-22 season, he has had two of the best seasons of his career. Last season, he played in the most games of his career since the 2016-17 season. One of the biggest things holding Porzingis back throughout his career have been injuries. Thus far through his eight years in the league, he has only played in 402 of the possible 656 games he could have suited up in.

Despite this, he has been able to bounce back time and time again, and last year with the Wizards he had arguably the best season of his career. He finished the year averaging 23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 49.8% from the field and an elite 38.5% from three.

Porzingis would serve as an incredible stretch four for the Celtics. Currently, they have a projected starting lineup of Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Porzingis, and Robert Williams. This is a starting five that would put the rest of the league on notice and be incredibly difficult to beat in a seven-game series. Along with this, they also have one of the deepest benches in the league.

Porzingis would bring reliable scoring and incredible floor spacing on the offensive end. On the defensive side of the ball, Porzingis and Williams would be an elite shot-blocking duo, and opposing teams would have a very tough time scoring around the basket.

If the Celtics are able to pull this trade-off, it could be enough for them to come into the season as favorites to win the title. With them only being one game away from a Finals appearance last season, the addition of Porzingis could be enough to solidify them as the best team in the Eastern Conference.