Hall-of-Famer and Boston Celtics legend Kevin Garnett just begged the organization to keep Kristaps Porzingis around next season. “Man you got to bring Porzingis back,” Garnett said on his podcast, KG Certified. “Porzingis makes it all unguardable. When Porzingis is in there and everybody is healthy, this year they weren’t healthy at all.” But that isn’t a good idea.
Porzingis just wrapped up a very rough playoff run that was plagued by illness, and next year is the final season of his current contract. And on top of that, the Celtics need to clear up a lot of money to get under the second apron, and he will make over $30 million next year.
Garnett makes a fine point, but it just doesn’t make a ton of sense to keep him around.
Why the Celtics should keep Porzingis
There are a couple of arguments to keep Porzingis around for next year. He’s had great chemistry with Jaylen Brown in the past, and with Jayson Tatum slated to miss most (or all) of next year, that would be a perfect source of offense for the Celtics.
He would also give them a great mismatch to hunt, as Garnett alluded to. Though his post-ups looked ugly in the playoffs, he’s been amazing in that spot for the Celtics for the past two years.
In addition to that, Porzingis’ value probably has never been lower than it is right now. Everybody around the league just watched him get benched for Luke Kornet in the second round of the playoffs. Even if he was dealing with an illness, it still wasn’t a good look.
Bringing Porzingis back and letting him rehab his trade value could end up being a smart move if Boston wants to capitalize.
Why the Celtics should trade Porzingis
While all of that may be true, the Celtics’ need to shed cap space remains their biggest problem this summer. They have to get under the second apron, and ditching Porzingis’ $30 million would go a long, long way in doing that.
Plus, teams may be willing to take a chance on Porzingis, knowing that he’s on an expiring contract. There’s not too much risk in bringing him on board (for most situations) if they know he’ll be off the books next season.
With the way he played to end last season, plus the Celtics’ desperate need to get under the second apron (which is roughly $20 million away, without factoring in the need to re-sign Luke Kornet and Al Horford), keeping Porzingis just doesn’t make sense.