- The Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards, and Memphis Grizzlies worked out a three-way deal that sends Kristaps Porzingis to the Celtics and Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies.
- After reports emerged of the trade being completed, the deal was reportedly off before it was official around midnight Eastern time.
- The LA Clippers backed out of the trade due to concerns with Malcolm Brogdon’s injury history.
Kristaps Porzingis is on his way to the Boston Celtics after a three-way trade with the Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies was made official late Wednesday night. The trade didn’t cause a seismic-sized shift in the Celtics’ NBA title odds for next season. However, they are now co-favorites with +500 odds to win at BetUS.
The Denver Nuggets opened as favorites to repeat as champions. Shortly after being crowned, oddsmakers at BetUS inserted the Nuggets alone as a +550 favorite to win in 2024. At the time, the Celtics had the second-best odds to win the 2023-24 NBA Championship at +600.
Nuggets and Celtics Co-Favorites To Win Title
Currently, BetUS has the Nuggets and Celtics listed as co-favorites at +500 to win the NBA title in 2024. Does the trade for Porzingis make the Celtics better than they were before? The Celtics are certainly a better team on paper.
The Dallas Mavericks were confident that Porzingis was their missing piece. In three seasons with the Mavericks from 2019 to 2022, the Mavericks did not reach the NBA Finals. In February 2022, Dallas traded Porzingis to the Wizards and made the Western Conference Finals later in the same year.
The Boston Celtics are finalizing a deal to acquire the Washington Wizards’ Kristaps Porzingis, sources tell ESPN. Porzingis is opting into his $36M contract for 2023-2024 and getting his trade to the Celtics. pic.twitter.com/tRVEfI8nnI
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2023
He has never been able to find a city to call home in the NBA. The Latvian was drafted by the New York Knicks in 2015. Following three years in NYC, the Knicks traded him to the Mavericks as part of a seven-player deal in late January of 2019.
After the Porzingis experiment failed in Dallas, he was shipped out to Washington two years ago. Now, he goes into the best situation of his career with the Celtics.
Celtics Receive Porzingis and First Round Draft Picks
Porzingis isn’t the only prize that the Celtics are receiving in this deal. Along with Porzingis, the Celtics receive two first-round draft picks.
The Celtics received the No. 25 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. They will also have an additional first-round selection for the draft next year.
For a team that needed more firepower and depth in the frontcourt, the deal checks some boxes for the Celtics. Porzingis will join Al Horford and Robert Williams III in the rotation.
And, who knows, the Celtics might hit a home run with one of the draft picks that they acquired. In exchange, they had to say goodbye to Marcus Smart.
Marcus Smart To The Grizzlies
Reports of Smart being unhappy in Boston surfaced two years ago. He wasn’t shy about disclosing his grievances with the team, either. In 2021, Smart called out Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum for being selfish players.
The starting point guard wanted to be more involved in the offense. However, his role with the Celtics was as more of a facilitator and solid defensive presence than a prime scorer.
Marcus Smart as a Celtic:
— 10.6 PPG
— 4.6 APG
— 1.6 SPG
— DPOYTop 3 in points, assists, steals and 3-pointers for the Celtics since being drafted in 2014. pic.twitter.com/ciKu12AGWE
— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 22, 2023
With Ja Morant suspended for the first 25 games of the regular season, Smart will presumably start the season as the Grizzlies’ starting point guard.
If Morant can stay out of trouble, the Grizzlies will be a better team with Smart on their roster. Currently, the Grizzlies have +2200 odds to win the 2023-24 NBA Championship.
Smart is the only acquisition by the Grizzlies in the trade. The Wizards picked up the most assets from the deal. They get Tyus Jones, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala, and a second-round draft pick in 2023.
The Wizards are in the weakest position of these teams to win next year. After a 35-47 season, the Wizards traded Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns on June 19. The Wizards’ front office has been busy this offseason.
