NBA Trade Grades for Celtics, Hawks, Nets After Kristaps Porzingis 3-Team Deal
The NBA continues its version of musical chairs as yet another big trade has taken place following the movement of Jrue Holiday, Anfernee Simons, CJ McCollum and Jordan Poole over the last 24 hours.
The Boston Celtics' championship team from 2024 continues to crumble as second-apron restrictions force yet another move. After trading Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers in a cost-cutting deal, Boston has sent Kristaps Porziลฤฃis packing.
ESPN's Shams Charania broke the news and trade details first:
The trade sheds significant salary (and talent) out of Boston, while the Atlanta Hawks get a premier two-way big man to pair with Trae Young. The Brooklyn Nets, the only team with real cap space this summer, use some of it to acquire yet another first-round pick, their fifth (!!!) in Wednesday night's draft.
Here's how the trade grades out for all three teams.
Atlanta Hawks: A
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There's certainly risk involved trading for Porziลฤฃis.
The veteran big man will turn 30 before the beginning of the season. Porziลฤฃis' playoff numbers have been brutal at times. His list of career injuries looks like a CVS receipt.ย
With all that being said, this was a no-brainer move for the Atlanta Hawks given the cost.
Getting one of the best two-way big men in the NBA (when healthy) for nothing more than two bench players and the No. 22 overall pick is well worth the gamble for Atlanta, a team that needed another star to make the leap in what's become a wide-open East.
A starting five of Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson and Porziลฤฃis is really good on paper, and Altanta still has Onyeka Okongwu for when its newly acquired center inevitably misses some time.
For a team that's struggled defensively since drafting Young, getting Porziลฤฃis is a huge boost as a rim protector. The 7'2" center has averaged 1.8 blocks per game in his career and was one of only three players (along with Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren) in the NBA to hold opponents to below 52 percent shooting at the rim while contesting six shots or more last season.
It's easy to imagine the Hawks running a ton of pick-and-pop action between Young and Porziลฤฃis, as the latter averaged 19.5 points and shot a career-high 41.2 percent from three last season.
Atlanta gave up the No. 22 pick (originally owned by the Los Angeles Lakers) yet still got to keep the No. 13 selection (via the Sacramento Kings).
Porziลฤฃis is going to miss time during the season and is seemingly always questionable come the postseason, but having Okongwu in place is a nice safety valve.
This was an unbelievable value for Atlanta and one that raises the team's ceiling substantially.
Boston Celtics: C
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We can understand why the Boston Celtics made a move like this, but that doesn't mean we have to like it.
From a financial standpoint, yes, the Celtics would deserve an A. Let's start here.
Trading Porziลฤฃis for Georges Niang accomplished Boston's goal of getting under the second apron and (along with the Jrue Holiday deal) saved $180 million in luxury-tax penalties. The Celtics are now free to aggregate salaries in potential trades, although doing so would hard-cap them at the second apron, a number Boston is just $4.5 million below. This isn't factoring inย a new contract for Al Horford yet, who becomes even more important with Porziลฤฃis gone.
Losing Porziลฤฃis isn't a death sentence for the team's success, as the Celtics went 31-9 without him this past season. However, with Jayson Tatum sidelined for most/all of next year with an Achilles injury, Porziลฤฃis was projected to take over as the No. 2 offensive option in Boston behind Jaylen Brown (who we assume is safe now).
Niang is a good veteran. He's feisty, tough and not afraid to run his mouth in front of any opponent. He may even be the team's new starting power forward with Tatum hurt and Porziลฤฃis gone.
Now 32 and with no more than 10 starts in any single season of his career, however, Niang just can't compare with Porziลฤฃis' talent level, and he would be the first to admit it.
The Celtics got cheaper, but they also got much, much worse with this trade. An already thin frontcourt is going to really struggle next season if no more moves are made.
Boston gets an A financially but an F for improving the actual basketball team, which should be the main goal for a franchise just a calendar year removed from winning a championship.
Brooklyn Nets: B
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The Brooklyn Nets may field more calls than any other front office this offseason as teams seek a third wheel that can take on salary and complete trades.
This is exactly what we expected Brooklyn to do in the face of a weak free-agent class, as the Nets pick up another first-rounder (No. 22 overall) for the trouble of taking on Terance Mann and his remaining three-year, $47 million contract.
With Mann's deal and the salary of another first-round pick, the Nets lose $19 million of their $60-plus million of cap space, yet still project to have over $43 million with a cap hold for Cam Thomas retained.
The value seems fine, especially if Brooklyn can move Mann later down the road for some younger talent. At 28, he doesn't fit the team's rebuild.
The Nets now have five first-round picks (Nos. 8, 19, 22, 26 and 27 overall) as well as No. 36 overall in the second round. The goal should be to consolidate as many picks as possible in an attempt to move up or swap some for future selections from teams looking to get back into the first round. Bringing six rookies to training camp, even in a rebuild, is a lot.
This likely won't be the last salary dump/pick accumulation trade we see Brooklyn make this summer. More transactions, like maneuvering around the draft board, are sure to follow as well.
The Nets did well here, especially if they end up moving up from No. 8 overall in the draft thanks to this.
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