The NBA never sleeps. Less than a month removed from Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics are as active as anyone on the eve before the draft. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported a trade involving the Boston Celtics acquiring Kristaps Porzingis in a three-team deal that would send Malcolm Brogdon to the Los Angeles Clippers, and Marcus Morris Sr. to the Washington Wizards. And just as everything seemed done and ready to call it into the league, the Clipper backed out.
Negotiations continued until near midnight, the deadline for Porzingis to opt-in to the final year of his contract until finally a deal was finalized involving the Memphis Grizzlies acquiring Marcus Smart in exchange for Tyus Jones going to the Wizards and draft compensation to the Celtics.
My first impressions of the deal are that it came out of nowhere. Everyone knew Boston was going to move on from one of its guards but a deal pursuing Porzingis makes a big splash, especially for Brad Stevens, an executive who was recently called out on the Bill Simmons podcast for not yet making a big move during his presidency. What made an even bigger splash was the trade nearly falling apart and then ultimately leading to the departure of long-time Celtic, Marcus Smart.
This deal is a three-teamer with a few ins and outs that were slapped together at literally the last minute. So let’s take a look at it from all sides. What was lost, what was gained, and what could have been gained instead?
What the Boston Celtics gave up
The first thing to look at is what Boston gave up. If the trade is to be graded properly, the cost matters. And Marcus Smart, however polarizing, is still a big loss. Smart was historically known as the heart and soul of the locker room. What he lacked in traditional stats he made up for with hustle and high-effort plays. He was always the first one diving for loose balls, ready to make a play at any moment necessary.
Last season wasn’t his best but the year prior certainly was, a season that ended with a loss in the Finals. He found a real rhythm as a point guard and led the C’s in assists in both the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons.
What can’t go without mentioning though is Smart’s defense. The 2021-2022 defensive player of the year was always known for taking the tough assignments, guarding everyone from bigs to shifty guards. 2023 saw his defense slope downward but he still held his own.
However, Smart was far from perfect. He was arguably not the team’s most productive guard this season behind Derrick White. Over his Celtics tenure, he was known as a big-shot taker, but not necessarily a big-shot maker. His offense could be productive at times but also could feel detrimental when he took too many shots. It was hard to find the right amount of usage.
Faults aside Marcus Smart did give his all every single time he suited up in green, and that is worth something, though it’s hard to quantify. But looking at things on a macro scale, it might have been time to move on. Time will tell.
Other than Smart, the Celtics are sending Mike Muscala and Danilo Galinari to Washington. Galinari never suited up for the Celtics due to injury and Muscala was a trade deadline acquisition that didn’t play meaningful minutes come playoff time. Still, it would have been nice to have kept one of these two considering Grant Williams may be moving on as well. Additionally, they are sending the 35th pick in this year’s draft, which is negligible considering what they are getting back.
Grade: B-
What the Boston Celtics gained
Knowing what was given up, what is coming in the door in exchange?
Kristaps Porzingis has had a colorful career thus far, playing in New York, Dallas, and most recently Washington. Hailing from Latvia, and standing at seven-foot-three, he was deemed one of the original unicorns, sort of like a poor person’s Victor Wembanyama. He can shoot, defend the rim, and move with agility. Last season he averaged a career-high 23.2 points per game on 49.8/38.5/85.1 shooting splits.
But he does come with some risks. Like Brogdon, Porzingis has struggled to stay healthy over his career. He has averaged only 40 games per season over his 10-year career if you include the season he sat out with an ACL injury. That is definitely not encouraging. But, also like Brogdon, he had one of his healthiest seasons in 2022-2023, playing 65 games, his highest since his sophomore season, on 32.6 minutes per contest.
Plus what also needs mentioning is how Porzingis fits. It became apparent that Boston needed an extra big when Blake Griffin was getting real minutes, and Porzingis not only fills that role, he fits the style of play too. The Boston Celtics like to shoot, sometimes to their detriment, but adding another floor spacer keeps opportunities open to either play multiple bigs or play a rather large version of small-ball, with five out.
The other point to consider is why the Celtics needed a center in the first place. Rob Williams is just as injury prone as Porzingis and Al Horford can’t hold up forever, as he enters year 17. Even if it means two injury-prone guys playing the five, this move splits the load between two really talented players.
Lastly, the picks need to be mentioned. The Celtics are acquiring the 25th pick in this year’s draft as well as a 2024 first via Golden State. Not a big haul essentially trading up 10 picks this year and getting some future draft compensation, but it certainly is better than no draft capital.
All in all, this was a good deal and a good fit for the Boston Celtics.
Grade: A-
Opportunity cost
With any significant deal like this opportunity cost is important to appraise. Basically, what else was out there?
For Boston, it’s not totally clear but not a whole lot when looking at the trade block and free agency. As far as bigs go, other options might have been Draymond Green who just opted out of his contract to enter free agency, not to mention the baggage he comes with. Deandre Ayton, who will most likely be traded for two or more role players to fill out the Suns’ roster, and potentially Jakob Poeltl, whom the Celtics were interested in at the 2023 deadline.
With the limited information available and, considering the market for each one of those guys, Porzingis was as good of a deal as any that were out there for Boston. But on the other side of things, this trade will always be remembered as the almost Brogdon trade. The opportunity cost of losing Smart instead is in itself polarizing, all depending on how one feels about Smart. Brogdon remains in Boston which will require some smoothing over, but that’s the business of this association.
Grade: B
Conclusion
At the end of the day, at the end of the season, the NBA is tough. It’s hard to win in this league and even harder if a team won’t take appropriate risks.
Which is exactly what this was, a calculated risk.
Brad Stevens, like the rest of us, has seen this team go deep in the playoffs time after time and still come up empty-handed. He knew something needed to be done and if all the wings are staying put, then that meant improving the front court and trimming the excess in the backcourt.
This trade does exactly that. Now we’ll all have to wait and see how head coach Joe Mazzulla and his new assistants put it all together.