Strong Case for Celtics to Keep Kristaps Porziņģis Despite Playoff Performance

The end of the playoffs mirrored past devastating final acts for Kristaps Porziņģis in other uniforms. His New York Knicks tenure concluded with a torn ACL. The Mavericks experience became defined by his Luka Dončić and Porziņģis’ inability to gel, and that storyline carried through Washington and Boston’s Finals run even as his playing style evolved.

Somehow, despite reaching the highest Boston approval rating weeks prior when he returned to Game 2 with a bandage on his forehead against Orlando to roaring applause, Porziņģis’ performance faltered for the rest of the series. Then, he succumbed to the return of illness symptoms against the Knicks. Joe Mazzulla continued playing him through the struggles, eventually relegated him to the bench and it’s now possible the last image of Porziņģis in green will be him playing at around 5% of his regular season effectiveness.

“I don’t think anybody was more frustrated than him,” Brad Stevens said. “And I felt for him, because the way it was described to me was just post-viral syndrome, which is just lingering effects of a long illness. And I think we’ve seen that and probably all read too much about that over the last several years. But I think that, unfortunately, I thought he had really turned the corner there towards the end of the regular season. We went to Madison Square Garden, [and] he was so good, and then even in the first round. And then, for whatever reason, he just didn’t feel as good there early in the next series, and never really felt great … but he’s going to play for Latvia. I think that’s a good thing … I’m sure it’ll be well cleared up by then.”

That downturn, Porziņģis’ sparse availability each regular season, alongside his $30.7 million contract that expires after next season, made him a prime candidate to leave Boston in a trade this summer as part of expected cost-cutting measures by the front office. But while a dip below the second apron makes some sense for resetting the team’s draft pick future while Jayson Tatum recovers from achilles surgery, there’s not yet any indication that incoming ownership will force Stevens and company to take the more drastic measure of shedding over $40 million in payroll to dodge the luxury tax. Boston can reduce its tax burden by sliding down the progressive tax structure’s tiers to the lower-level hits without avoiding tax entirely. That would leave the Celtics in the best position to compete now and into the future, and make all the necessary moves to do so in-between.

While Porziņģis, Jrue Holiday and Sam Hauser could all factor into that effort eventually, it can extend into the season as second apron and tax penalties don’t hit until the end of the season. That gives the Celtics until the trade deadline to assess and fully adjust its roster. With Porziņģis in particular, there’s a strong case for allowing him to re-establish himself at full health, aid Jaylen Brown’s acclimation to the top offensive role on the team and either trade him later in the season if Boston doesn’t succeed, reap $30 million in savings at the end of the season by allowing his contract to simply expire or re-sign him to a lower annual salary number. Porziņģis also becomes extension-eligible this summer and can sign one throughout the season.

Al Horford and Luke Kornet are free agents this summer, and while the door will remain open for both to return, a team already facing a ballooning payroll can’t extend itself significantly to retain its two other centers. Potentially losing them and trading Porziņģis would completely deplete the center position that played an important role in Boston playing top-end defense over the past four seasons and running the mismatch-attacking system that came to define Mazzulla’s historically efficient offenses. Porziņģis, in particular, gave the offense an interior attack they missed as switching defenses gave Boston trouble again this past postseason. The Knicks’ ability to switch more than they did in the regular season keyed their upset win over the Celtics.

If the Celtics do trade Porziņģis, they’ll need to include third or fourth teams to offset salary and actually save against the second apron and tax. They won’t control many of the opportunities that emerge this summer and Stevens set the tone in his exit interview that Boston won’t move with desperations to off-load salary. We have a lot of good players, he stressed. The Celtics will actually want to receive something back for them.

With Porziņģis, the opportunities available now might not be worth the cost of moving on from a player who’s still valuable as an escape-valve for Boston’s creators, who will carry a heavier load without Tatum next season.

“It’s been unbelievable, honestly,” Porziņģis said of his Boston experience. “If you purely look from my own perspective, it’s been up-and-down. Tough moments, this, even last year, then the big objective that we were going for, we achieved it and there’s nothing sweeter than that. Then, to try to do it again this year was a big challenge, and myself also coming back from injury again into the season after having the surgery, it’s not the easiest thing to do, and just some bumps on the road all the time. But at the end, what it does, it just fortifies your mind and I always take it that way, and this again, was a tough challenge for me personally. It ends on a bitter note like this, but I think we all have to go home and know that we left everything out here, and then you can sleep at night.”

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers don’t have a starting center and do have the flexibility to trade multiple players and hard-cap themselves at the second apron while building a full roster. LA would need to part with Rui Hachimura to make a deal worthwhile for Boston, a player who logged minutes at the five for JJ Redick, though Dorian Finney-Smith would remain with similar positional versatility. A third team like Charlotte would need to take on some out-going Lakers salary to save the Celtics $12.4 million. That would cost Boston some draft capital.

Chicago Bulls

If the Celtics want $7-million in savings, a starting-caliber center for a reset season who can keep the team above water and less of an injury risk. Boston could save more money if they traded Nikola Vučević closer to the trade deadline, and this deal would conceivably not cost the Celtics any draft capital to execute, and could return them assets later. The Bulls would need to believe in Porziņģis providing the team a chance to take a leap.

Washington Wizards

A reverse of the trade that transformed the Celtics two summers ago would save Boston roughly $7 million. Would Marcus Smart actually play for Boston if a trade like this occurred? I’d bet against it, as Boston could shed salary in several trades, but if two years away from the Celtics prepared him to take on a smaller role while playing on an expiring contract in tandem with a Jrue Holiday trade, it might spark some excitement in what’s become a 2025-26 season with lower expectations. Porziņģis loved his time in Washington, and could give a young team a boost if it tries to shift toward winning. Boston could even bring back some draft capital here.

Utah Jazz

Austin Ainge, the former Celtics scouting head, now leads the Jazz’ front office. His father Danny Ainge and Utah’s front office would’ve pursued Porziņģis if he reached free agency after the Celtics’ initial trade with Washington collapsed. If they still have interest in Porziņģis, and Boston sees John Collins as a player they want to re-sign at a lower cost beyond 2026 as part of their future, a one-for-one swap here works. Collins’ shooting decline is a major concern, but he brings athleticism and speed to a team that badly needs some burst.

Portland Trail Blazers

This would be a risky one for the Celtics, because it doesn’t initially save them much money, Robert Williams III’s health declined significantly since leaving Boston and Matisse Thybulle would also need to reclaim some value for the Celtics to perform follow-up trades to shed more salary. Both players enter next year on expiring contracts, though, so in in a step back, larger salary shedding scenario, Portland might see value in Porziņģis aiding a pivot toward winning that began late last season.

New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans need to decide which direction they’re going in after another failed season and major questions about Zion Williamson’s future. Adding Porziņģis would only happen in a scenario where New Orleans is still trying to win, but only bringing back a valuable player like Herb Jones makes sense for Boston. This trade feels improbable.

The Giannis Antetokounmpo trade

In the past, I’d avoid constructing bizarre, multi-team trades because they were so unlikely. Now, they could become the key to moving money in complicated scenarios. If Brooklyn becomes a salary-dumping facilitator in a trade this summer, it’ll probably happen in the biggest deal that pulls in the most possible teams.

If an opportunity like that allows Boston to offload the greatest percentage of Porziņģis’ salary while retaining other players they want to keep. Here, Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton would not be difficult to move off later. But this is a trade where the Celtics do not return value, retain his cap spot for trades down the line or an impact player at center.