On June 29, the Boston Celtics held an introductory press conference for Kristaps Porzingis after acquiring the star forward as part of a three-team trade.
In a June 30 episode of ESPN’S NBA Today, Tim Bontemps shared his surprise at Boston making such a big move while being so close to becoming NBA Champions, with the analyst warning that adding Porzingis could ‘lower their floor.’
I think they have a higher championship ceiling,” Bontemps said. “I also think they have a lower floor…It is a big risk to take a team that’s this close and make such a drastic change to what they’re about. I think it could work, but it’s just not often you see a team in this kind of position make this kind of swing in a trade like this. And I’m fascinated to see what the Celtics look like next.”
The Celtics failed to return to the NBA Finals this season, losing to the Miami Heat in game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals. As such, the Celtics have looked to add some additional firepower to their rotation this summer, swapping out Marcus Smart, Danilo Gallinari, and Mike Muscala for Porzingis.
Cedric Maxwell Wants Montrezl Harrell in Boston
After trading away Smart, many Celtics fans believe Boston will be lacking a leader next season. According to Cedric Maxwell, the Celtics should look toward acquiring former Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell in free agency.
Which players should the Celtics target in free agency?
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“The person that I think about is Montrezl Harrell,” Maxwell said. “You’ve got the nicest bench in the world. What you have is Mr. Clean over there with the Celtics’ bench. I want somebody over there who is a little nasty, a little dirty, a little gritty. He’s one of those few guys I’ve seen that can come in, won’t need the minutes, but really I think will be a high value for this team.”
Harrell, 29, played 57 regular-season games for the Philadelphia 76ers last season, averaging 5.6 points, and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 59.8% from the field. Boston currently has Al Horford, Robert Williams, Prozingis, and Luke Kornet in their big man rotation, so it’s unlikely they would look to add Harrell to the mix.
Celtics Expected to Extend Kristaps Porzingis
In order for the Celtics to acquire Porzingis, the veteran big man had to opt into the final year of his current contract. However, according to Marc Stein, who was reported in his SteinLine Newsletter, the Celtics are widely expected to offer Porzingis a contract extension during the summer.
The three-team deal to send Kristaps Porzingis to Boston is likewise expected to lead to a July contract extension for Porzingis beyond next season’s $36 million player option, league sources say.
Today was the deadline to invoke the option.
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“The Celtics…are strongly expected to tack two years onto Porziņģis contract this summer. The 27-year-old is eligible for a maximum two-year extension worth $77 million that could take his total compensation in green well past $100 million.”
By extending Porzingis, the Celtics will be ensuring their new-look core will remain together for the foreseeable future, giving the new-look roster more opportunities to contend for a championship. In order to do this, the Celtics are also expected to extend a supermax contract extension to Jaylen Brown during the off-season after he became eligible for the mammoth contract after being named to the 2023 All-NBA Second Team.
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Celtics Warned of ‘Big Risk’ After Kristaps Porzingis Trade