As the Celtics processed how their season ended in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Brad Stevens and the front office pinpointed a desire for more roster balance.
They had a surplus of guards and not quite enough in their frontcourt, with Al Horford aging and Robert Williams struggling to stay on the floor. They targeted Kristaps Porzingis – the 7-foot-3 big man with elite skill and shooting ability – to be a solution and did everything in their power to acquire him, ultimately parting with Marcus Smart to do so.
Porzingis, the No. 4 overall pick in 2015, has shown great promise over his first eight seasons while having trouble staying healthy. But he’s coming off arguably his best season after averaging a career-high 23.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, and the Celtics view him as a great fit in their system as a floor-spacing big who adds another dynamic scoring option and compliments what they want to do defensively, too.
“Kristaps can play with any combination of our players,” Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said. “He can play with Rob, he can play with Al, he can play as a standalone 5. He has just gotten better and better and better. You see what he was doing this year, and I thought the games that we played against him and the games that I watched with the most intent against other teams, I thought he just had really taken another step, too. He was already good, but he just took another step.
“He can play defensively the way we want to. He is a deterrent at the rim, and he’s a super skilled basketball player. We didn’t post a ton this year, but to be able to throw the ball in the post and just shoot over a switch and do it so efficiently and effectively is a big deal, let alone being able to play behind the line, shoot the ball or drive it or those types of things.
“He brings a lot to our team. You can envision as I can envision some of the lineups we can put out there size-wise right now, pretty intriguing and not without dropping any skill at all, so that’s a good thing.”
Porzingis is set to be introduced as a Celtic sometime next week. Stevens said he spoke to the soon-to-be 28-year-old big man, who’s “extremely excited” to be coming to Boston and add to a championship-caliber team.
Porzingis opted into a $36 million player option for next season and could hit free agency next summer. He’s eligible to sign a two-year, $77 million extension in July and Stevens expressed hope that the Celtics can retain him beyond one season.
“You know, we’ll see how that stuff all works itself out,” Stevens said. “But he’s a guy that we think can certainly be a really good player. He’s been a really good player this far and has only gotten better. I think to me, that’s the part that really stands out. Sometimes when you’re the fourth pick in the draft and get all these accolades and all this attention and all these eyes and you’re going through your growth process, there’s some ups and downs. But he’s at a point where he’s starting to, I think, really play at his best I’ve seen. So we hope so.”
The initial Porzingis trade talks – a three-team deal that reportedly set to send Malcolm Brogdon to the Clippers – reportedly broke down after the Clippers had concerns about Brogdon’s injury status. Brogdon suffered a serious right forearm strain that severely limited him and made him a non-factor in the Eastern Conference Finals.
More than three weeks since the season ended, Brogdon is still considering surgery. But Stevens expressed confidence that the Sixth Man of the Year will be ready for the start of next season.
“Our doctors and him have been really consistent with … he’s felt better and better and better and he’s going to continue to do so and it’s going to be monitored,” Stevens said. “If they need to go in and do that, then he can choose to. But he can also choose not to in the way he’s feeling. We’re very confident that he’ll be on the court and be good. So that’s that.”
After making a series of trades during Thursday night’s draft, the Celtics ultimately moved back into the second round and selected Arkansas wing Jordan Walsh with the No. 38 overall pick.
The 19-year-old Walsh spent one season with the Razorbacks where he showcased an advanced defensive ability with his 7-foot-2 wing span. But he’s a work in progress offensively after shooting 27.8 percent from 3-point range. Stevens is excited about his potential.
“We don’t expect him to come in and take the world on fire in the first couple of months, summer league, first year,” Stevens said. “He has a special ability laterally with his wingspan to, like, swallow people up defensively. Like he really creates havoc with his arms and with his energy and with his ability to move his feet. He’s a better shooter. And we had him in twice for workouts. He is just getting better and better. And I’ve always thought his touch looked good, but he looked hesitant at times.
“And so I think over time he’ll become a really good shooter who has the athleticism to finish and drive closeouts, but he’ll be ahead on the defensive end from the start. He’ll get knocked down a few times, though.”
The Celtics started Thursday night with the No. 25 pick that they collected in the Porzingis trade, and ultimately turned it into Walsh and four additional future second-round picks, which Stevens said are more valuable under the new collective bargaining agreement.
Those picks are: Dallas’ 2024 second-round pick; the best of Detroit’s, Golden State’s or Washington’s 2025 second-round pick; the best of Minnesota’s, New Orleans’, New York’s or Portland’s 2026 second-round pick; and Atlanta’s 2027 second-round pick.