Kristaps Porzingis had a strong bounceback year in his first full season with the Wizards, serving as one of the bright spots for a Washington team that once again found itself on the outside looking in on the East playoff picture.
Porzingis averaged 23.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game on strong efficiency (49.8/38.5/85.1 shooting splits) for Washington, and the expectation was for him to opt out of his player option and look to sign a new long-term deal with the Wizards this summer. However, after Washington overhauled its front office, that no longer seemed like a formality for Porzingis, and his player option decision became a very interesting proposition. Ultimately he picked it up to facilitate a blockbuster trade to the Celtics, who sent Marcus Smart to Memphis to land Porzingis and a pair of first round picks.
With Porzingis on an expiring, Boston had to go to work on looking to retain him long term as sending Smart out for one year of Porzingis wasn’t a good move. Shortly after free agency began, Chris Haynes reported the Celtics and Porzingis were nearing an extension worth $60 million over two years.
Boston Celtics and Kristaps Porzingis are expected to finalize a two-year, approximately $60 million extension, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 30, 2023
It’s the move Boston had to make after trading for Porzingis given all they gave up, and they are banking heavily on the star big man staying healthy and producing at the level he did in Washington to help elevate a Celtics offense that showed in the playoffs they could use some more out of their frontcourt to help Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.