NBA Rumors: Kristaps Porziņģis Was Eyed by Jazz as FA Target Before Celtics Trade
It appears Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens beat his former boss, Utah Jazz executive Danny Ainge, to the punch when it comes to Kristaps Porziņģis.
The Celtics acquired Porziņģis from the Washington Wizards in the three-team deal that sent Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies, but had the veteran big man made it to the open market this summer, the Jazz were expected to show "strong free agent interest" in the Latvian, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
Stein added that Boston was Porziņģis' preferred destination. He exercised his $36 million player option for 2023-24 to be traded to the Celtics.
The Jazz have been in rebuilding mode since trading Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Porziņģis' fit in the Utah lineup would have been unclear as the franchise already has Walker Kessler at the five and Lauri Markkanen at power forward. However, adding Porziņģis could have possibly allowed Markkanen to shift to small forward in a more versatile lineup.
In Boston, Porziņģis' fit is much more clear, and he should slot right into the starting lineup alongside Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and either Al Horford or Robert Williams III.
Porziņģis is the much-needed upgrade at center that Boston has needed over the last several seasons as the combination of Horford and Williams was not cutting it against bigs likes Joel Embiid and Bam Adebayo.
During the 2022-23 season, Porziņģis averaged 23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 blocks in 65 games while shooting 49.8 percent from the floor and 38.5 percent from beyond the arc.
While the 27-year-old is certainly an upgrade for the Celtics, the franchise now has a hole to fill with the departure of Smart to Memphis.
Malcolm Brogdon figures to serve as Boston's starting point guard in 2023-24, but the team's depth at the position is poor with Derrick White and Payton Pritchard the best options behind him.
After falling to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics will likely be going all-in next season to get back to the NBA Finals and bring a title back to Boston for the first time since 2008.
