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The Boston Celtics have been busy this offseason. They acquired Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards in a three-way deal that sent Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies, then signed and traded Grant Williams to the Dallas Mavericks. Their moves have not impressed Chris Mannix of NBC Sports Boston.
Mannix explained why he believes the Celtics are worse off after the moves that they made.
“As of now, mid-July, they’re worse. It really is Kristaps Porzingis for Grant Williams and Marcus Smart. That, to me, is a step back because Marcus Smart, even though he was flawed, you know what he is. Grant Williams, as bad as he was in the second half of the season, he shot 41 percent from 3 in the first half, and I think getting a contract and security would have made him better going into this season,” Mannix said.
Mannix then added his concerns about Porzingis as an addition.
“I’m sorry, he worries me. He does. He had a great year last year, but he was in a contract year playing for a team that went nowhere. Now, he’s going to have the security of a long-term contract playing for a team that needs him to fit into a system to be highly successful. I just have my concerns at how seamless he’s going to fit into this mix.”
The fact remains that Porzingis performed much better in a contract year – averaging 23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.5 blocks while shooting 49.8% from the field and 38.5 percent from three – than Williams did – averaging 8.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 0.4 blocks while shooting 45.4% from the field and 39.5% from three.
Kristaps Porzingis Posts Excitement for First Celtics Season
Since being traded to the Celtics, Porzingis has been posting multiple videos and images of him working out in a Celtics uniform. On July 18, Porzingis posted multiple pictures of himself on his personal Instagram Story working out in Celtics attire. In the last one, he posted a picture of himself with the caption, “May the next season be my best season,” with a clover emoji.
Porzingis is coming off one of the most efficient seasons of his career with the Wizards and is now projected to be the third option in the Celtics’ offense behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Through his Instagram posts, Porzingis clearly wants fans to know how excited he is to be on the team.
Kristaps Porzingis Headlines the 2023 Latvian Team in FIBA
On June 28, FIBA’s Twitter account announced that Porzingis would be among the players that would play for his home country, Latvia, in the 2023 FIBA tournament.
This concerns Celtics fans because Danilo Gallinari tore his ACL in the FIBA tournament in 2022 not too long after he signed with the Celtics in free agency, causing him to miss the entire 2022-23 season. Gallinari was then included in the Porzingis trade, which means he won’t suit up for the Celtics until further notice.
Much like Gallinari, Porzingis has an extensive injury history, so fans’ concerns are justified. Although Gallinari’s injury was a stroke of bad luck. Porzingis is at risk of the same thing happening to him, of course, but for him to have the same fate as Gallinari would be an unprecedented string of bad breaks for the Celtics.
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