Deal or no deal? The Celtics were still reportedly trying to get one done as midnight passed on Wednesday night.
A blockbuster three-team trade between the Celtics, Wizards and Clippers that would have sent 7-foot-3 big man Kristaps Porzingis to Boston appeared to be close to completion as of late Wednesday afternoon. But at 10:22 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN reported that those trade talks had suddenly broken down, leaving uncertainty if a deal would get done.
The initial framework of the trade – which was first reported by The Athletic – would have sent Porzingis to the Celtics, Malcolm Brogdon to the Clippers and players and draft compensation to the rebuilding Wizards. Brogdon, who makes $22.5 million next season, and Danilo Gallinari, who reportedly opted in to his $6.8 million option for next season, were part of the deal to match salaries in a return for Porzingis.
NBA reporter Marc Stein reported that the trade collapsed after the Clippers raised concerns about Brogdon’s injury status. The Celtics guard and NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year suffered a forearm injury that severely limited him in the Eastern Conference Finals, and while offseason surgery was a possibility, it’s unclear the veteran guard’s status is.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Celtics and Wizards were continuing to explore avenues to get a deal done and get Porzingis to Boston, whether that was in a straight swap between those two teams or trying to find a third team. Porzingis had a midnight deadline to make a decision on exercising his $36 million player option for the 2023-24 season, and ESPN reported that the Wizards were working on ways to send Porzingis to the Celtics in an opt-in-and-trade scenario. Porzingis had the ability to decline his player option and become a free agent.
The collapsed trade talks created some unexpected chaos after it appeared the Celtics had made a major roster shakeup in their pursuit of a championship. They are seemingly prioritizing finding a player to give them frontcourt depth, and Porzingis seemingly fits that bill. The addition of Porzingis would give them a needed reinforcement and starting-caliber big man to play with the aging Al Horford, who just turned 37 and appeared to run out of gas in the playoffs, and Robert Williams, who has struggled to stay healthy through his first five NBA seasons.
Porzingis, who turns 28 in August, has likewise had a difficult time staying on the court since being selected with the No. 4 overall pick by the Knicks in 2015. He missed the entire 2018-19 season after tearing his ACL, and he has played in just 402 games over eight seasons.
There would certainly be risk involved with Porzingis’ durability as he’s mostly come short on the lofty expectations he faced entering the league, with just one All-Star appearance. But he’s coming off arguably the best season of his career and he’s still in his prime. He averaged a career-best 23.2 points per game for the rebuilding Wizards in 65 games last season, and can slide in as another top scoring option to ease the load on Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Porzingis shot 38.5 percent from 3-point range last season and gives the Celtics another floor-spacing big man who is also advanced in the post. He’s also one of the best pick-and-roll defenders in the league and gives the Celtics more flexibility and options in their two-big lineups, or even if they go smaller to help spell Horford and Williams.
But as the clock struck midnight on Wednesday, it was unclear if that might happen.
The Celtics are reportedly adding Duke assistant coach Amile Jefferson as they continue to revamp their coaching staff under Joe Mazzulla. Jefferson was a member of Duke’s 2015 national championship team and had a brief stint with the Celtics in 2020 on an Exhibit 10 contract before becoming Duke’s director of player development in 2021 and then an assistant under Jon Scheyer last season. Jefferson is close friends with Tatum, who is also a Duke alum.
The C’s have not officially announced any of their coaching additions, but have reportedly hired Sam Cassell, Charles Lee, former Celtics guard Phil Pressey and now Jefferson to be part of Mazzulla’s staff next season.