Kristaps Porzingis looked like he was hitting his stride at the end of the regular season. But by the end of the playoffs, the big man struggled to consistently stay on the court as his mysterious illness sapped his strength. The Celtics struggled against the Knicks as a team as losing Porzingis’ productivity was part of the series loss.
So as the Celtics head into an important offseason, they face a conundrum with what to do with their talented big man. When at his best, Porzingis is a game-changer with his two-way impact and ability to hit shots. But as has been the case for him throughout his career, Porzingis just hasn’t been able to stay on the court.
“Our expectation is that it’ll probably be the next couple weeks will do him good to be off,” Boston president Brad Stevens said of his illness. “He’s going to play for Latvia. I think that’s a good thing. I think it’s good to be playing in Eurobasket and I’m sure it’ll be well-cleared up by then.”
That’s where the decisions will have to be made this summer for the Celtics. Porzingis has been considered a potential contract that could be on the move this offseason. He has one year and $30.7 million left on his deal. Porzingis averaged 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his 42 games for the Celtics this season.
Even if the Celtics want to offload the contract, finding a suitable trade partner will likely be difficult. There are only so many teams with cap space this summer, so moving Porzingis could get tricky for the front office. Plus, it’s unclear what Porzingis’ trade value is considering, for all his talent, he hasn’t been able to stay healthy.
When the C’s acquired Porzingis from the Wizards, the vision was clear as he meshed well with the starting lineup. He’s a unique player at 7-foot-2 as he was dubbed “the unicorn” earlier in his career. Porzingis quickly became a fan favorite and got a ring last year, though he missed the majority of the 2024 playoff run.
But as the Celtics enter this offseason, they need more production from their entire roster. Part of why they weren’t able to overcome the Knicks was that they couldn’t rely on Porzingis, who battled his illness all series. The C’s also dealt with other injuries to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as their season came up short. Plus, they collapsed in multiple losses as they couldn’t muster up enough wins.
The Celtics enter a transition period where they’ll be without Tatum for most, if not all, of next season due to the ruptured right Achilles tendon. That also means the C’s will enter a season without title expectations for the first time in a few years. How Porzingis figures into the conversation is one of the more important factors for the front office this summer.
All those decisions will be made this summer. The Celtics are in an intriguing spot because they need to shed salary, but how they do so is the big question mark. Other teams are going to be interested considering there are solid players on this roster. But the tricky thing with trades will be the salaries and other factors.
“We have an amazing group of guys,” Stevens said. “This is what makes it hard when you come up short. And I know people say that all the time, but the character in the room is just incredible. And they are the kind of guys that they can go in any gym, anywhere and win any one game. And we just didn’t do it enough.”