NBA Rumors: Kristaps Porziņģis 'Badly Wanted' Celtics Trade from Wizards

Veteran forward Kristaps Porziņģis "badly wanted" a trade to the Boston Celtics, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday a proposed trade between the Celtics, Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers involving Porziņģis fell through.

Boston was determined to land the 2017-18 All-Star and worked out a new three-team swap that will see Marcus Smart go to the Memphis Grizzlies, per Wojnarowski.

Stein explained why Porziņģis was so motivated to get out of town:

"In addition to the obvious chance to compete for a championship with the Celtics, there is a strong expectation already (as I reported earlier Wednesday) that the Celtics will sign Porzingis to a two-year extension as soon as he becomes eligible for that deal in early July."

Once the Wizards agreed to trade Bradley Beal to the Suns, there seemed little likelihood of Porziņģis sticking around. Washington is entering a rebuilding phase, and his $36 million player option gave him a straightforward exit plan this summer or next.

The Wizards' relatively meager return for the 7'3" big man illustrated how they didn't have a ton of leverage.

Porziņģis comes out a major winner from the move.

If he had his heart set on Boston, then he could've simply opted out and signed with the Celtics as a free agent. That would've required him to take a significant pay cut, though, since they have almost no flexibility this offseason.

Now, Porziņģis not only cashes in with his player option but also might get a multiyear agreement from a championship contender as well.

Long-term financial security is a massive luxury for a player who has battled injuries throughout his career. The Latvian hasn't logged 70-plus appearances in a season since his rookie campaign in 2015-16.

His value may not climb much higher than it is at this moment, either. He averaged 23.2 points and 8.4 rebounds and shot 38.5 percent from beyond the arc with the Wizards in 2022-23.

Given the aforementioned injury history, waiting until next offseason to sign a new contract carried some risk from Porziņģis' perspective.