The Boston Celtics are finalizing a three-team deal with the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets that sends Kristaps Porzingis to the Hawks, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.
Per the report, the Celtics are sending Porzingis and a second-round draft pick to Atlanta. The Hawks are sending Terance Mann and the No. 22 pick in Wednesday’s NBA Draft to the Nets. Atlanta will also send Georges Niang and a second-round selection to the Celtics. The Nets reportedly gave up nothing in the trade and gain a first-round pick while taking on Mann’s three-year, $47 million contract.
What are the Celtics doing?
The move is the second trade in two days for the Celtics after they dealt Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday in exchange for a package that features Anfernee Simons and future second-round draft picks.
The trades by the Celtics are part of an effort to move salaries below the NBA’s punitive second tax apron of $207,825,000. Boston is parting with core members of its 2024 championship team to do so. Like Holiday, Porzingis was a key contributor on the team that secured the franchise’s first NBA title since 2008.
The Celtics are breaking down their roster in the aftermath of a 2024-25 season that ended with a disappointing second-round playoff loss to the New York Knicks, a series in which they lost All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum to a ruptured Achilles tendon.
The injury will sideline Tatum for most, if not all, of the 2025-26 season, a prospect that dampened Boston’s hopes of competing for another title next season, even prior to the ongoing offseason roster shakeup. The Celtics apparently concluded that operating above the second tax apron wasn’t worth it in light of the team’s diminished prospects.
Porzingis is due $30.7 million on the second year of a two-year, $60 million contract next season. Holiday has three years, including a player option, remaining on a four-year $134 million contract.
Hawks make a move in weakened Eastern Conference
Boston’s loss is Atlanta’s gain, as the Hawks saw an opportunity to improve their standing in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks finished ninth in the East last season at 40-42 and failed to make the playoffs after losing to the Miami Heat in the play-in.
Atlanta’s roster now projects to be much improved from the one that lost to Miami. Besides the addition of Porzingis, the Hawks are expected to return forward Jalen Johnson to the starting lineup.
Johnson, 23, was on a trajectory to make his first All-Star team last season before a shoulder injury ended his season in January. Johnson was not on the roster that lost to the Heat in the play-in.
Historically, Porzingis struggles to remain on the court. He played in 57 and 42 games, respectively, in his two seasons in Boston. But he’s a two-way force when healthy, and he averaged 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 blocks last season while shooting 48.3% from the field and 41.2% from 3-point distance.
As of now, Atlanta’s starting lineup projects to feature Porzingis, Johnson, four-time All-Star point guard Trae Young, last year’s No. 1 draft pick, Zaccharie Risacher, and Defensive Player of the Year finalist Dyson Daniels.
It’s a lineup that offers promise in Atlanta. Whether it can rise to the level of contending in a diminished Eastern Conference is yet to be seen.
The Boston Celtics are finalizing a three-team deal with the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets that sends Kristaps Porzingis to the Hawks, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.
Per the report, the Celtics are sending Porzingis and a second-round draft pick to Atlanta. The Hawks are sending Terance Mann and the No. 22 pick in Wednesday’s NBA draft to the Nets. Atlanta will also send Georges Niang and a second-round selection to the Celtics.
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The move is the second trade in two days for the Celtics after they dealt Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for a package that features Anfernee Simons and future second-round draft picks.
The trades by the Celtics appear to be in an effort to move salaries below the punitive second tax apron of $207,825,000. Boston is parting with core members of its 2024 championship team to do so.
