Photo: NICK GRACE
The Boston Celtics acquired forward Kristaps Porzingis in a three-team trade with the Washington Wizards, Porzingis' former team and the Memphis Grizzlies after a prior three-team trade proposal hit a snag just before the forward's option deadline, sources with knowledge of the deal confirmed to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Veteran Celtics guard Marcus Smart was sent to the Grizzlies and guard Tyus Jones was dealt to the Wizards. Additionally, the Celtics will receive the No. 25 overall pick in Thursday's (June 22) 2023 NBA Draft from the Grizzlies, as well as the Golden State Warriors' top-four-protected pick for the 2024 NBA Draft, while Washington will get the No. 35 pick previously held by Boston.
The Celtics also sent forward Danilo Gallinari and center Mike Muscala to the Wizards as part of the three-team trade, according to sources.
Wojnarowski had previously reported a the three-team trade involving the Los Angeles Clippers fell through just before the midnight deadline for NBA players with a player option for the upcoming 2023-24 season to decide on whether to opt in or out. Wojnarowski specified that the Wizards were "still working on ways to get Kristaps Porzingis to the Celtics in an opt-in and trade scenario, but it won't be in a three-way with the Clippers" at the time.
The Celtics were one win shy of making their second consecutive NBA Finals appearance, having been eliminated by the Miami Heat in a 103-84 loss in Game 7. Porzingis is coming off a season in which he averaged a career-best 23.2 points per game and made 65 starts, which tied a career-high, after being limited to less than 60 games during each of the past four seasons following his ACL surgery in 2018.
The Wizards had previously agreed to a trade sending All-Star guard Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday (June 18). The former Florida standout is a three-time All-Star and has averaged 22.1 points, 4.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds, but the Wizards have only made the playoffs during five of his 11 NBA seasons, which includes missing the postseason during each of the past two seasons, as well as four of the last five seasons.
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