Celtics Trading Kristaps Porzingis to Hawks in Blockbuster Three-Team Trade
Kristaps Porzingis #8 of the Boston Celtics reacts in the first half during game 4 of the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center on April 27, 2025...
Kristaps Porzingis #8 of the Boston Celtics reacts in the first half during game 4 of the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center on April 27, 2025 in Orlando, Florida.
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
NBA free agency 2025: Latest news, rumors, trades ahead of NBA Draft as Kyrie Irving reaches new deal with Mavs, Celtics deal Kristaps Porzingis
The Oklahoma City Thunder just won the NBA championship, but the other 29 teams don't have time to celebrate. The NBA offseason is already in full swing, with two significant trades already taking place ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft. NBA free agency officially begins at 6 p.m. ET on Monday, June 30, when teams are allowed to start negotiating with free agents. Players can sign contracts beginning on July 6. Advertisement Kevin Durant and Jrue Holiday may find themselves with new teams, but they won't be the only players wearing new jerseys next season. Here are the latest moves, rumors and trades ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft. June 24: Kyrie Irving reaches new deal with Mavs Kyrie Irving declined his player option on Tuesday night and agreed to a new three-year, $119 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks. That will end up paying Irving about $40 million per season. Though he had the chance to leave, Irving was never expected to make a move away from the Mavericks this summer. The nine-time All Star is currently recovering from a torn ACL he sustained in March, though the team hopes he'll be back in action by January. Advertisement The deal is the second one the Mavericks have made this week, following Daniel Gafford's new deal on Monday. The team also has the No. 1 pick in Wednesday's draft, where they're expected to take Cooper Flagg. June 24: Celtics reportedly finalizing deal to send Kristaps Porzingis to Hawks in 3-team trade involving Nets The Boston Celtics are finalizing a three-team deal with the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets that sends Kristaps Porzingis to the Hawks, ESPN's Shams Charania reports. Per the report, the Celtics are sending Porzingis and a second-round draft pick to Atlanta. The Hawks are sending Terance Mann and the No. 22 pick in Wednesday's NBA draft to the Nets. Atlanta will also send Georges Niang and a second-round selection to the Celtics. The move is the second trade in two days for the Celtics after they dealt Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for a package that features Anfernee Simons and future second-round draft picks. Advertisement The trades by the Celtics are part of an effort to move salaries below the NBA's punitive second tax apron of $207,825,000. Boston is parting with core members of its 2024 championship team to do so. Like Holiday, Porzingis was a key contributor on that championship team that secured the franchise's first NBA title since 2008. June 24: Pelicans reportedly trading CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk to Wizards for package including Jordan Poole The New Orleans Pelicans are trading CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynyk to Washington Wizards for a package that includes Jordan Poole, ESPN's Shams Charania reports. Per the report, the Pelicans are also sending a future second-round pick to Washington. In addition to Poole, the Wizards are sending the Pelicans Saddiq Bey and the No. 40 pick in Wednesday's NBA Draft. The deal signals a further roster overhaul of the Pelicans core after New Orleans traded Brandon Ingram to the Toronto Raptors during the season. Advertisement McCollum, 33, was a three-plus-year starter for the Pelicans after arriving via trade from the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2021-22 season. McCollum was previously Damian Lillard's backcourt running mate in Portland. June 24: Matisse Thybulle picks up option, returns to Trailblazers Matisse Thybulle is staying in Portland as he picked up his $11.5 million player option for the 2025-26 season, ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Tuesday. The 28-year-old was traded to Portland from the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2022-2023 season as part of a four-team trade that also involved the New York Knicks and Charlotte Hornets. Thybulle signed a $33 million deal for three years the following offseason. Advertisement Thybulle's option comes after he played 15 games this past season and averaged 7.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals as the Blazers finished with a 36-46 record. June 24: Knicks reportedly interviewing Timberwolves coach Micah Nori The New York Knicks found another candidate for their head-coaching position. Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori will reportedly interview for the role. Nori is a long-time assistant around the league, and has served in that role with the Toronto Raptors, San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons before joining the Timberwolves. Nori is the third person the Knicks have interviewed for the role. Mike Brown and Taylor Jenkins each had formal interviews with the team. Of that trio, Nori is the only one without head-coaching experience. Advertisement June 23: Celtics reportedly trading Jrue Holiday to Trail Blazers for Anfernee Simons, draft picks The Trail Blazers struck a deal with the Boston Celtics on Monday night to acquire Holiday, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. In exchange, Portland is sending guard Anfernee Simons and a pair of future second-round draft picks to Boston. The deal, according to Charania, is only the beginning for the Celtics this offseason. The team is still engaged in trade talks 'surrounding multiple key players on the roster,' though further specifics are not yet known. Boston has significant work to do to avoid the luxury tax altogether, and it's likely that Holiday is simply the first player to go. June 23: Khris Middleton reportedly picks up $33.3 million option to remain with Wizards next season Advertisement Middleton picked up his $33.3 million player option for the 2025-26 campaign on Monday, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. That is part of the initial three-year, $93 million deal he signed with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2023. The Bucks dealt Middleton to the Wizards ahead of the deadline last season in a move that sent Kyle Kuzma to Milwaukee. Middleton ended up playing in just 14 games for the Wizards, who went 18-64 and missed the playoffs for a fourth consecutive year, while dealing with a knee injury. In total, Middleton averaged 11.9 points and 3.7 rebounds per game last season, his lowest numbers since his rookie campaign. June 22: Suns trade Kevin Durant to Houston Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, draft picks Advertisement The Phoenix Suns traded Durant to the Houston Rockets, in exchange for Green and Brooks. Phoenix also received the No. 10 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and five second-round picks as part of the trade. The deal will not officially go through until July 6, per ESPN's Bobby Marks, due to a restriction in Green's rookie extension, which he signed last October. The second-round picks in the trade will stretch to 2032, per NBA insider Jake Fischer. Durant will join an emerging Rockets team that is anchored by rising stars Amen Thompson and Alperen Şengün, as starters Green and Brooks are sent to Phoenix. The Rockets made the playoffs this season for the first time since 2020 as the No. 2 seed in the West. They lost in the first round to the Golden State Warriors. June 21: Pat Connaughton picks up option, returns to Bucks Pat Connaughton is comfortable in Milwaukee. The veteran guard reportedly picked up his player option to return to the team, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Saturday. Advertisement Connaughton had until Tuesday to make a decision on his $9.4 million option. The 32-year-old averaged 5.3 points and 2.7 rebounds with the team last season. After starting his career with the Portland Trail Blazers, Connaughton has spent the past seven seasons in Milwaukee. He's mostly served in a backup role with the team, though is occasionally pushing into a starting spot. After averaging 22.3 minutes per game in his first six seasons with the Bucks, Connaughton saw that number drop to 14.7 minutes per game last season. With Connaughton on board, the Bucks project to sit below the first apron. The team should still be "able to sign a player to the $14.1 million midlevel exception," per ESPN.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
NBA rumors: San Antonio Spurs trying to pair Wembanyama with another over 7-feet tall star?
A new NBA rumor suggests the San Antonio Spurs are pondering the idea of pairing 7-foot-5 star Victor Wembanyama with 7-foot-2 Kristaps Porzingis next season. Over the last few weeks, the Spurs have been viewed as one of the favorites to trade for future Hall-of-Famer Kevin Durant. However, that pursuit came to an end on Sunday. When in-state rivals, the Houston Rockets, were able to complete a trade for the 15-time All-Star. Advertisement Well, with the forward no longer an option, a new report claims the team has had 'exploratory' conversations about a different one-time All-Star. 'Another team we've heard with a level of Porziņģis interest: San Antonio,' NBA insider Jake Fischer reported on Tuesday. 'The Spurs, sources say, have held some exploratory talks about trading for the 7-foot-2 center. That would certainly be a fascinating outcome for Porziņģis. If he were to land with the on-the-rise Spurs alongside the 7-foot-5 Victor Wembanyama.' Kristaps Porzingis stats (2024-25): 19.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.5 SBPG, 41% 3PT The 29-year-old is available this summer due to the Boston Celtics needing to slash payroll in a major way this offseason. It is why they traded veteran guard Jrue Holliday on Monday. The Latvian is viewed as one of their more tradable assets. Since he has one year and just over $30 million left on his contract. Advertisement The big concern in a potential trade is a mystery illness that hampered Porzingis throughout the season and in the playoffs. The issues sapped his energy levels often. However, if that can be fixed, the idea of a pair of gigantic rim protectors who can also stretch the floor alongside De'Aaron Fox is a fascinating idea to help San Antonio get back to the playoffs next season. More San Antonio Spurs news and rumors: Related Headlines
New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
NBA trade grades: How can Kristaps Porziņģis help Hawks' offense? Do Nets have new plan?
The big trades preceding draft night continue rolling in, and the Boston Celtics continue to shed payroll to get under the collective bargaining agreement's dreaded second-apron threshold. They agreed to trade Kristaps Porziņģis to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team deal involving the Brooklyn Nets, less than a day after agreeing to trade Jrue Holiday to Portland for Anfernee Simons and two second-round picks. In the Porziņģis deal, Georges Niang and a second-round pick will head to Boston, and Brooklyn will receive Terance Mann and Atlanta's No. 22 selection in the first round of the NBA Draft on Wednesday. ESPN was first to report the deal. Advertisement This is another big Celtics trade during their mini-sabbatical from ring-chasing as Jayson Tatum heals from his Achilles injury. Let's bust out the red ink and throw grades on this big three-team deal: This is a very interesting and opportunistic move by a new Hawks front office. Porziņģis is on a $30 million expiring deal next season, meaning this could potentially be a rental for the Hawks. It's a great risk for a team that has been stuck in the mud of the East standings since their 2021 Eastern Conference finals appearance. The Hawks have been extremely disappointing for various reasons, as they've swapped out coaches and players around Trae Young since that postseason run. If Porziņģis is able to be relatively healthy for the Hawks this season, he provides a great running mate for Young. As good as some of the players alongside Young have been, Porziņģis would probably be the best he's had. He can stretch the floor as a career 36.6 percent 3-point shooter, and that number rose to 39.2 percent in his two seasons with the Celtics. He's a pretty special shooter at his size, and he's capable of being a great option going to the basket with pick-and-roll opportunities. For a passer like Young, that provides a phenomenal target. It allows the Hawks to feel pretty easy about moving on from 31-year-old Clint Capela, and it moves Onyeka Okongwu back to his more natural position of playing the 4. And, when adding a healthy Jalen Johnson into the mix, you have a great three-headed big-man rotation. The issue, though, is Porziņģis misses a lot of time. He hasn't played in 72 games since his rookie campaign. Over the last four seasons, he's missed 40, 25, 17 and 31 games, respectively. He's had injuries throughout his career, so the Hawks must be careful about how they utilize him and manage his physicality. The Hawks also have to make sure they can re-sign him. They aren't giving up too much for him, but you don't want this to be a rental. Advertisement As the Eastern Conference becomes more wide open, the key for Atlanta to reshape its roster is maintaining a $25 million trade exception it can use to be very aggressive in adding talent. The Hawks should be proactive in going for something big under head coach Quin Snyder next season. The East has opened up in a way they couldn't have anticipated even two months ago. This is the time to figure out what they have here, once and for all. Grade: A The Celtics needed to shed more salary to get under the aforementioned second apron, and this should do it and then some. The question now is whether they feel they need to save even more money. That probably doesn't mean sending out recently acquired players like Niang or Anfernee Simons (from the Holiday trade), but would they feel the need to part with Sam Hauser via salary dump if it means they can easily keep Al Horford and/or Luke Kornet? The latter players become even more imperative now that Porziņģis is officially off the books. Niang is a nice addition because his 3-point shooting fits perfectly in their offense. He can really let it fly and flirts with being a 40 percent 3-point shooter for his career. Finding him in the corner or on the wings will have high upside for a good result. The key for Niang, who enters a contract year during an era where elite shooting is quite invaluable, will be fitting into the team defense. Boston's next step is making sure its frontcourt has enough size to remain relatively competitive. Grade: B- I love this opportunistic approach by the Nets. They didn't really give up anything of value in this deal, and they ended up with a solid rotation wing and a fifth first-round pick in this year's draft. Take that, Sam Presti! I can't imagine the Nets are going to utilize all five of those picks because that would just be ridiculous. Developing five such players at once is asking a lot. But the Nets are in a position to package those picks to either move up or add selections for teams that need cost-effective depth on rookie deals. Brooklyn is doing what proper rebuilding teams often do, which is stockpiling draft assets by using its cap space to acquire contracts. And then, we'll see what happens with those resources. Grade: A+ ( Photo: David Butler / USA Today Network via Imagn Images )
