The Boston Celtics' main motivation behind last offseason's Kristaps Porziņġis trade was to shed salary to get under the second tax apron. It wasn't so much about what they got in return — Georges Niang and a second-round pick. The trade played more in Boston's favor than initially expected, and continues to do so.
As ESPN's Anthony Slater and Ramona Shelburne wrote last week, Porziņġis will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but his ongoing health issues have "some league executives wondering whether he will have any market at all."
Porziņġis played only 17 games for the Hawks due to illness and Achilles tendinitis before Atlanta traded him to Golden State for Jonathan Kuminga. The Warriors acquired the center expecting him to be healthy and in the lineup, but he's played just three games since the trade.
If Golden State wants to retain him this summer, and that at least seemed to be the plan originally, it's not looking like there will be much competition (if any).
Porzingis' health issues could affect his looming free agency
Boston knows better than any other team in the league how impactful KP is on both ends of the floor. He helped them win the title less than two years ago, but last season, his health issues left him looking like a shell of his usual self in the playoffs. He scored just 25 total points in the second-round series loss to the Knicks.
Porziņġis thought his illness, which was then later revealed to be postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), wouldn't hold him back in Atlanta, but it did. He said after the trade to Golden State that he felt good, but he missed a couple of weeks after the All-Star week because of it.
KP returned on March 7, scoring nine points in 23 minutes in a loss to the Thunder. He missed the Warriors' three-point loss to the Jazz two nights later due to illness management and had 17 points in 20 minutes in a loss to the Bulls the following evening. He's not on the injury report for their game tomorrow against Minnesota.
Hopefully, for Porzingis' sake, he doesn't deal with any more health setbacks. Even if he can remain in the lineup for the last few weeks of the regular season (and into the play-in tournament), opposing teams will likely still be hesitant to pursue him in free agency. It could result in him staying in San Francisco on a more team-friendly deal than the Warriors anticipated.
You can say the Celtics didn't know just how much the trade would benefit them.