The Celtics, Clippers and Wizards appeared to be progressing toward a three-team deal on Wednesday that would change the future outlook for each team considerably.
Boston was to acquire Kristaps Porzingis as a potential third star to join the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown duo; Los Angeles was to fill their point guard void by acquiring reigning Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon; and Washington was supposed to jumpstart a rebuild that began with trading Bradley Beal by acquiring Marcus Morris, Amir Coffey and the 30th pick in Thursday's NBA Draft.
However, the deal never came to pass — at least not in its anticipated form.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday night that the initial three-team deal had "fallen apart."
The three-team talks on a Porzingis-Brogdon deal with Celtics, Wizards and Clippers have fallen apart, sources tell ESPN. Sides are moving on. https://t.co/WoNkOcTYe5
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2023
News broke less than two hours before Porzingis had to render a final decision about his $36 million player option for the 2023-24 campaign. It left Washington scrambling to try to move the Latvian star while the Celtics looked for a new way to acquire him.
Ultimately, they pulled it off, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The Grizzlies joined in as the third team in the trade, sending Tyus Jones out as part of the trade package.
The Boston Celtics are finalizing a deal to acquire the Washington Wizards’ Kristaps Porzingis, sources tell ESPN. Porzingis is opting into his $36M contract for 2023-2024 and getting his trade to the Celtics. pic.twitter.com/tRVEfI8nnI
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2023
But instead of trading Brogdon, the Celtics had to trade away 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart. They received two first-round picks for their trouble, but there's no denying that the fabric of the trade was altered immensely.
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So, why did the initial Kristaps Porzingis trade fall through? Here's what to know about one of the latest dramatic twists of the 2023 NBA offseason.
Why did the initial Kristaps Porzingis trade fall through?
The initial Kristaps Porzingis trade fell through due to an issue on the Clippers' end.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported that Los Angeles had "concerns" about the health of Malcolm Brogdon. That led to the collapse of the three-team trade.
Concerns raised by the Clippers about Malcolm Brogdon's injury status, league sources say, led to the collapse of the three-team trade expected to send Kristaps Porzingis to Boston before midnight tonight.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 22, 2023
A direct Wizards/Celtics deal has not been ruled out.
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Brogdon does have a checkered injury history. He has missed time due to a torn quad and various heel and foot injuries during his career, among other ailments. However, he appeared in 67 regular-season games for the Celtics last season, the most since his rookie campaign in 2016-17.
Even so, the Clippers weren't comfortable moving forward.
It isn't clear whether the Clippers would have agreed to a revised framework of the deal. Why? Because as Wojnarowski reported, the Celtics didn't want to wait any longer on Wednesday night to complete a three-team deal for fear of it falling apart.
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As such, Boston and Washington decided to focus on revised scenarios.
The Celtics didn’t want to wait any deeper into Wednesday night on completion of the proposed three-way trade and pivoted away from including the Clippers in the deal, sources tell ESPN. Wizards and Celtics are working on revised scenarios now.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2023
Reporting with the great Zubrin Mehenti for @SportsCenter on the collapse of the Wizards/Celtics/Clippers trade talks pic.twitter.com/Y9GgGOl7AK
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2023
Evidently, that involved targeting a third team to join the fray. This time it was the Grizzlies.
And apparently, the major change between the two deals is that the Celtics will be parting with Marcus Smart rather than Brogdon in the deal.
Why did the Celtics trade Marcus Smart?
Wojnarowski reported that the Celtics traded Smart for a handful of reasons. First, they really wanted Porzingis and were operating with a deadline to acquire him. As such, they had to consider moving on from him after their deal involving Brogdon fell through.
Two other reasons for the move were the team's depth at the guard position as well as the NBA's new salary cap, as Wojnarowski explained on SportsCenter.
You saw the emergence of Derrick White this season, and you are starting to see now teams reckoning with the new salary cap. This term that you're going to hear a lot, the second apron, that teams are going to have to stay away from. You can't pay everybody.
Finally, the Celtics were able to get a couple of first-round selections as part of the deal in giving up Smart. Both are likely to be in the latter half of the first round, but as Wojnarowski noted, getting cost-controlled assets will be important for the Celtics as they face the possibility of having to offer Jayson Tatum a five-year, $290 million supermax contract in the coming years.
Here’s @wojespn with the latest trade between the Celtics, Grizz and Wizards pic.twitter.com/wFKVpZMz6n
— Stanford Steve (@StanfordSteve82) June 22, 2023
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies were happy to land Smart to give the team a gritty veteran. He will also help fill in for Ja Morant during his suspension and provide their young roster with key leadership.
Kristaps Porzingis trade details
Below are the full details of the Kristaps Porzingis trade.
Celtics get:
- C/F Kristaps Porzingis
- 2023 first-round pick (No. 25 overall)
- 2024 first-round pick
Grizzlies get:
- G Marcus Smart
Wizards get:
- G Tyus Jones
- F Danilo Gallinari
- C/F Mike Muscala
- 2023 second-round pick (No. 35 overall)