Boston Celtics: Should Cs look to pursue Kristaps Porzingis?

Every single NBA team that advanced to the second round has an assortment of shooters around their star players, every single one of them. Some teams like the Jazz and the Clippers have shooters on the wing while other teams like the Nets or the Bucks have elite shooting in their big rotation on top of their shooters on the wings. A large reason for the Boston Celtics’ stagnant offense this season was a lack of shooting.

Specifically, the Celtics lacked a pop threat which they normally have had in the past with Baynes, Horford, or Kelly Olynyk. This pop threat is so instrumental to the Celtics offense because it complements Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum better than any other skill set due to the amount of pick and rolls the two-run. With a pop threat, the Cs are less predictable and therefore harder to guard on top of a superior spaced floor.

Getting this pop threat should remain the Boston Celtics’ top priority this off-season, whether that’s drafting one, trading for one, or siding one is up to Brad Stevens and the C’s front office. Let’s talk about a scenario in which they could trade for one.

Kristaps Porzingis, former all-star, a freak of nature, and an abnormally good shooting talent that stands at 7’3. With the Mavericks looking to pair Luka Dončić with a more creator-oriented star Porzingis could potentially be on the move, leaving the Boston Celtics with a decision: Do they pursue Porzingis or not?

Porzingis is not who he was when he was on the Knicks, he’s not even who he was last season anymore. His injury or I should say injuries, have completely neutralized his game within 10 feet of the basket. He no longer drives, only 22% of his FGA coming within 0-3 feet in comparison to 38% of his shots coming from 3 point range. So we have to put into perspective how valuable his 3 point shooting is.

If you watched any of the Clippers/Mavericks series, none of what I am about to say is news but if you haven’t, listen closely. In seven games vs the Clippers, Porzingis averaged 13.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists on 57 TS%. Rick Carlisle, one of the best coaches in the NBA, made no effort to get Porzingis involved which led to his 10.3 FGA per game in a series in which the Clippers were playing Marcus Morris and Terrence Mann at the 5.

If Carlisle is as good a coach as I say he is, and the Mavericks needed floor spacing, why didn’t Porzingis get more shots?

Two reasons: The first being he was not hitting the shots he was taking, shooting just 29% from 3, and also, by giving him shots, the Mavericks would be playing into the Clippers game plan.

That’s right. LA dared Porzingis to shoot, goading him into creating offense…and he couldn’t do it. Once his 3-point attempts stopped falling, the Clippers had no reason to commit much defensive attention to him since they knew he wasn’t going to drive to the basket and punish their small-ball lineups.

That’s the problem with Porzingis, as a 7-footer he is insanely jump-shot reliant which makes him prone to terribly inconsistent shooting performances. So that floor spacing is not a given on a night-to-night basis and it can cost a team a playoff series like it just did.

On top of his playstyle being extremely flawed, he’s on arguably the worst contract in basketball. Back on July 12th of 2019, Porzingis signed a five-year maximum contract extension which guarantees him $31, $33, and $36 million over the next three seasons respectively. He is unlikely to play all 72 games of each of those three reasons, and even more unlikely to be a contributor on offense in 50% of the games he will play.

All that is not even mentioning his defense. One would think a 7’3 player with great length and mobility would be at least a good shot blocker and rim protector. One would be wrong. Porzingis’ skinny frame makes it so he can be easily moved off of his spot by smaller players, and due to his injury, he’s nowhere near as mobile on the perimeter as he used to be.

At this point in his career, he’s a liability and there’s no way to hide him either. He will be and has been hunted on defense in the playoffs and that is not a characteristic a team wants their max player to have.

So, should the Celtics look to pursue Kristaps Porzingis? The answer is no, in no way, shape, or form should Porzingis be on the Boston Celtics roster at the start of the 2021-22 season. His flaws would make the roster worse, and his contract would make the Celtics books worse. His strengths don’t overcome either of those things and there are simply better options on the market for the Celtics to pursue.

OKC’s Al Horford, for example, is not only better than Porzingis but is just as feasible to attain. The Boston Celtics could match his contract with Kemba Walker’s, and attach whatever Sam Presti would like to be willing to take on his contract, and boom, there’s your pop threat who can also play defense and pass at a high level.

He may be on the wrong side of 35, yes, but he’ll only be making $14 million in 2022-23 which means the Cs can still retain Smart and keep their books clean to sign any new free agents. If they had Kristaps on their books, Smart would have no choice but to sign with another team. Nobody wants that to happen, not the fans or Brad Stevens.

As the playoffs go on and teams are eliminated and we move closer to the off-season, don’t think about bringing Porzingis to Bean Town. It’s not a good idea.