Celtics' Kristaps Porziņģis to Rehab Injury 4-6 Weeks, Team Reportedly Not Concerned

Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porziņģis is set to miss the FIBA World Cup due to a foot injury, but the team is reportedly unconcerned about his chances to be ready for the upcoming NBA season.

"Though the 7-foot-3 sharpshooter indicated he's not fully ready for competition at this point and determined it was necessary to continue the recovery process, a Celtics source reached later Tuesday downplayed any concern over the issue," Jay King and Josh Robbins of The Athletic wrote.

According to the Celtics, their new big man will rehab for four-to-six weeks and is expected to be cleared for the start of training camp.

Porziņģis announced on Tuesday that a case of plantar fasciitis will prevent him from being part of the Latvian national team in the upcoming international tournament, which begins on Aug. 25 in the Philippines.

The 28-year-old big man is coming off arguably the best season of his eight-year tenure in the NBA. He averaged a career-high 23.2 points while adding 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 blocks in 65 games for the Washington Wizards. It was his first time appearing in over 60 games in a season since his sophomore campaign in 2016-17.

The Celtics acquired Porziņģis from the Wizards and a blockbuster three-team trade at the start of the offseason. If he can stay healthy, he will combine with star wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to form one of the most dangerous trios in the league next season. King noted that the three of them together "should put all sorts of stress on defenses" because of their versatility.

"If you put a smaller defender onto Brown, he'll bully his way to the hoop. Put one onto Porziņģis and he will just shoot over the top. Put one onto Tatum and the defender will be in serious trouble," King wrote. "From a size standpoint alone, teams could have a tough time matching up against all three of those guys."

Boston has been a perennial title contender for the past few years, so the team is surely hoping to get a healthy season out of Porziņģis as it continue its pursuit of an NBA championship.