The Atlanta Hawks made headlines on Tuesday, when they imported 3-and-D former champion Boston Celtics starting center Kristaps Porzingis as part of a three-team deal with the Brooklyn Nets.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, Porzingis and a second round draft selection are being sent to Atlanta. The Hawks, meanwhile, are shipping out guard Terance Mann and their No. 22 pick in this week's 2025 NBA Draft to Brooklyn, while offloading stretch forward Georges Niang to Boston. The Celtics are also acquiring a second round draft pick in the deal.
Porzingis' litany of health issues and his lucrative contract made him a likely candidate for a summer deal. He's been in Boston for two seasons, and in that time did his best to help the Celtics win their 2024 title. He also has weathered injuries and ailments in both his playoff runs with Boston, ultimately finding himself replaced in the starting lineup by his nominal backup Al Horford.
Horford, who turns 39 next month, is an unrestricted free agent.
As Charania notes, the trades of Porzingis to Atlanta and, earlier Tuesday, six-time All-Defensive Team guard Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers will help the Celtics duck the NBA's punitive luxury tax second apron. This will save the team significant cash and give it more roster-building mechanisms.
But Atlanta is apparently not done dealing.
The Hawks have a $25.2 million traded player exception they had earned as part of their deal to offload one-time All-Star guard Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2024 offseason.
Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8)
Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8)
© Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images
According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line/Bleacher Report, Porzingis' $30.7 million contract for 2025-26 will be too pricey to fit into the Hawks' TPE.
Per Fischer and Marc Stein, Atlanta was able to preserve its traded player exception by offloading Mann and Niang.
Sources inform Fischer that the Hawks are still looking to make further moves, including the traded player exception (the team is $30 million below the league's luxury tax now).
Porzingis could be replacing former rim-rolling center Clint Capela, who by the end of the 2024-25 season had been supplanted in Atlanta's starting unit by the smaller Onyeka Okongwu. Given Porzingis' pedigree and salary, he may also earn the Day 1 start. Could Okongwu thus be on the move as the Hawks look to shake up their roster around All-Star Trae Young, All-Defensive Team guard Dyson Daniels, and ascendant forward Jalen Johnson?
Should Porzingis stay healthy, he could be a ceiling-raising, high-impact addition to the Hawks in an injury-depleted Eastern Conference. But his recent history indicates that staying healthy is no sure thing.