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.
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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.
The trades by the Celtics appear to be 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.
The Celtics are breaking down their roster in the aftermath of a season that ended with a disappointing second-round playoff loss to the New York Knicks in which they lost All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum to a ruptured Achilles tendon. The injury will sideline Tatum for most if not all of the 2025-26 season.
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