The Boston Celtics continued their busy offseason on Tuesday when they traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team deal, less than 24 hours after they moved Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers.
It was a move that had been rumored for weeks after the Celtics were shockingly eliminated from the NBA playoffs in the second round — especially because of how much money Boston would save if it got some big contracts off the books.
While trading Porzingis got the Celtics under the second apron, it still drew plenty of mixed reaction on social media.
Here’s what those around the league are saying about the Porzingis trade.
Chris Forsberg, NBC Sports Boston
“My first instinct was to start looking at the money,” Forsberg said. “You’ve got a situation where Kristaps Porzingis was making nearly $30 million. Georges Niang is at $8.5 million. You’re going to save $22 million there. That gets you below the second apron. You are now able to unlock some of the restrictions. You maybe have the opportunity to entertain some of the big men that you want to bring back, either Al Horford or Luke Kornet.”
Gary Washburn, The Boston Globe
"The Celtics did not want to trade Holiday or Porzingis and they fully intended to keep both for the long term before Tatum’s injury. The second apron of the league’s salary cap was worth the penalty as long as the Celtics were playing into mid-June. Once Tatum was sidelined, the short-term agenda changed, and the blueprint laid out by both the Thunder and Pacers is that the recipe for success in the new CBA is youth, value contracts, and athleticism."
John Karalis, Boston Sports Journal
"Make no mistake, this is a straight salary dump. The mechanics of this deal will be interesting, and I think it involves some sequencing to take Porzingis into Brooklyn’s cap space first, and then he’ll move on to Atlanta. The involvement of Brooklyn is the key element here because their space allows the Celtics to turn $30 million of Porzingis into $8 million of Niang. It’s a clever use of the Nets’ cap space to facilitate a deal."
The Athletic
"Though the Celtics needed to trade two starters to alleviate their salary-cap dilemma, Stevens was able to address the problem without trading Jaylen Brown or Derrick White. Boston also managed to cut all of that salary without sending any outgoing picks in the trades. In another win, Stevens brought back nothing but expiring contracts in Niang and Simons while removing the three years and $104.4 million left on Holiday’s contract from the Celtics’ books. Boston will save more than $200 million in luxury tax payments between the two moves."
Jack Maloney, CBS Sports
“The big question now is whether Chisholm will push for more cost savings even though the Celtics are under the second apron. As of now, they’re about $7.4 million over the first apron and $15 million over the luxury tax, including their first-round pick. They will select No. 28 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday.”