The Boston Celtics will acquire Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards, and the Celtics will send Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team deal also involving Tyus Jones and draft picks, ESPN reported late Wednesday.
Jones will head to the Wizards, who will receive Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala and the 35th pick in the second round of Thursday’s NBA Draft. Boston will also receive first-round picks in 2023 (the 25th pick Thursday) and 2024 from Memphis.
For Boston, this trade salvages its attempt to get Porzingis, who had a career-year with the Wizards in 2022-23. The Celtics, Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers were engaged in trade talks but those discussions fell apart.
To make the deal work, Porzingis had to exercise the player option on the final year of his contract that will pay him $36 million in 2023-24. He could’ve entered free agency, but he decided to join a team with championship expectations.
Smart, the 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year, will provide the Grizzlies with excellent defense and a veteran presence for a young team that finished with the second-best record in the Western Conference last season. He will also be able start at point guard while Ja Morant serves his 25-game suspension.
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The Wizards continue their roster demolition ahead of an eventual rebuild. They traded Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, shipped Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma is an unrestricted free agent. It’s also possible the Wizards trade Chris Paul, who they acquired from Phoenix in the Beal deal.
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