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A crazy day has reached a crazy conclusion, with the Boston Celtics reportedly agreeing to trade Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team trade that lands them Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards.
The Celtics are also acquiring two first-round picks from the Grizzlies, including the No. 25 pick in Thursday's draft. Boston is sending Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala and its second-round pick Thursday (35th overall) to the Wizards, while Memphis is sending guard Tyus Jones to Washington.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the trade.
Earlier Wednesday, the Celtics were reportedly closing in on a different Porzingis trade, one that would have sent Malcolm Brogdon to the Los Angeles Clippers. However, that fell through Wednesday night, reportedly because the Clippers had concerns over Brogdon's injury status.
Porzingis had a midnight deadline to opt into a $36 million contract for the 2023-24 season, something that needed to happen in order for the Celtics to be able to acquire him.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was able to piece together a second deal in time, but with Smart now heading out instead of Brogdon.
Porzingis, 27, is a 7-foot-3 power forward/center who averaged 23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 blocks per game last season while shooting 38.5% from three-point range. He certainly brings a different look to the Celtics' lineup, especially offensively.
The Celtics had reportedly been looking for ways to better balance their roster by trading a guard for frontcourt help. This deal does that, but few expected Smart would be the guard to get traded.
Smart was the longest-tenured Celtic and now departs after nine years in Boston. The C's now have Brogdon, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard left for guards.
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