The Boston Celtics are looking to reinforce their roster in the aftermath of the Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Miami Heat. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, one way they’re trying to do that involves reaching out to the Washington Wizards and seeing if there is any way they can pull off a trade for Kristaps Porzingis.
As Charania notes, the best path forward for the Celtics to pull this off would involve Porzingis opting into the final year of his contract in which he is owed $36 million and then working out an agreement on a trade. There are a number of ways this could end up going, though, as Charania brings word that the Wizards would like him to come back on a new deal, while contending teams have gotten in touch about bringing him on board.
Eastern Conference championship contender pursuing Kristaps Porzingis in potential opt in-and-trade with the Wizards: pic.twitter.com/JFQ78784rk
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 21, 2023
Porzingis has until Wednesday afternoon to make a decision on the final year of his player option. He’s coming off of perhaps his best year in the NBA, as the former New York Knicks lottery pick averaged 23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 32.6 minutes per game while connecting on 38.5 percent of his attempts from behind the three-point line.
If Washington does end up trading Porzingis, it would mark the second major trade the team has made in recent days — the Wizards recently agreed to a deal with the Suns that sent Bradley Beal to Phoenix.