Momentum towards a Kristaps Porzingis trade picked up quickly on Wednesday afternoon. It wasn't via the trade that was originally proposed, but the Celtics eventually got their guy shortly before midnight. Marcus Smart is on his way to Memphis, the Celtics are getting Porzingis and two first round picks, and Tyus Jones is (for now) on the Wizards.
There are a lot of moving parts in this trade. Let's grade this trade, starting with the Celtics first.
Kristaps Porzingis Celtics trade grade: How much better does former All-Star make Boston?
For those that didn't watch much of the Wizards, Porzingis is a lot better than you probably remember from his time in Dallas. He's quietly played at a fringe All-Star level after being moved there at the 2022 trade deadline.
Porzingis has had a ton of questions about his health, but he played in 65 games las year. That number would have been even higher had the Wizards not held him out of a non-competitive final six string of games.
Losing Smart is painful, but Porzingis is going to be a great fit for the Celtics if he can keep up that string of good health.
How Kristaps Porzingis will fit with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on offense
The Celtics like to run mostly five-out offensive sets. They space all of their players outside the 3-point line to open the floor up for Brown and Tatum, who can operate in isolations or pick-and-rolls.
Porzingis is more than capable of playing in this type of system. The idea of Porzingis as a unicorn was that he could be a quality 3-point shooter with ridiculous 7-foot-3 height. In practice, he was a mediocre shooter, which limited his impact.
He's gotten much better in Washington with nobody watching. He shot 38 percent from 3 with the Wizards over the course of 82 games. He's cut out some of his worst shots and become way more focused on getting to the line, averaging a career-high 6.4 free throw attempts per game last year.
Once a problem when paired with Doncic, Porzingis is more capable of playing away from the ball now. He can spread the floor for better offensive creators, he can still score from all three levels of the court, and he's become more judicious with his shot attempts when he does get a chance to cook. He will give them a different offensive look that can relieve some of the pressure off Tatum and Brown during those periods where the offense tends to grind to a halt.
Kristaps Porzingis will add even more rim protection to the Celtics' elite defense
Porzingis is not a very mobile center, which can limit his effectiveness defensively if he's not surrounded by the right complementary personnel. Luckily, that personnel exists in Boston.
The Celtics already play a heavy dose of drop defense, which requires a shot-blocking threat. That is exactly what Porzingis specializes in. Opponents shot 11.1 percent worse at the rim with him as the primary defender last year, per Crafted NBA, which was in the 97th percentile of all players. He has an estimated 7-foot-6 wingspan, and his 1.5 blocks per game for the Wizards was the eighth-highest mark in the league.
The Celtics also are one of the best teams at keeping their big men close to the basket. They play a switch-heavy scheme that allows Robert Williams III to act as a roamer near the rim. If Williams' man heads out to set a ball screen, he will pre-switch out of it in order to stay near the paint.
Robert Williams' innovative role in the C's defense is so fascinating to me. @ZachLowe_NBA and @ElGee35 have both broken it down well on their podcasts.
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) February 28, 2022
-https://t.co/Jo15sT7OO9
-https://t.co/ee0TaxR6Xu
Here's some video to accompany what they're talking about. pic.twitter.com/Lh2n3qUPrX
The Celtics can slide Porzingis right into this exact same role, preventing him to have to guard in space.
Boston has ranked first and second in defense over the last two years. It's a scary thought, but its going to get even better with Porzingis in the fold.
How much better will the Celtics be after the Kristaps Porzingis trade?
The Celtics paid a heavy price for Porzingis, trading away the heart and soul of their team in Smart. It's impossible to say what kind of effect it will have on their delicate team chemistry given all of the intangibles, vocal leadership, and energy that Smart brought. Luckily, they had a surplus of quality guards in their rotation. If Malcolm Brogdon can stay healthy, then he and Derrick White should be able to soften the loss of Smart.
The Celtics were able to get some draft equity as a part of this trade that helps too. They will move up ten spots in the 2023 draft — from no. 35 to no. 25. The Warriors are also sending their 2024 pick, which will probably be somewhere in the back half of the first round in what many draft experts are saying is a weak class.
The Celtics are taking a big gamble on health with this trade. They have a bunch of injury-prone players now on their roster, but their upside is higher. It's a boom-or-bust strategy.
If it all works out, then Porzingis can let the Celtics play like the best version of themselves. They can go back to their two-big lineup that was so devastating in years past. This was a risky trade, but it should make them strong favorites to get back to the Finals.
Celtics grade: B
Marcus Smart Grizzlies trade grade
The Grizzlies saw a desperate team and took advantage. Tyus Jones is the best backup point guard in the league. He would have made a capable starter in the absence of Ja Morant, who has been suspended for the first 25 games of the season. But Smart is a better player who is locked into a reasonable contract paying him around $20 million over each of the next three years.
Smart's defense should help cover for Morant, who is a poor defender. The Grizzlies now have the last two Defensive Players of the Year on their roster with Smart and Jaren Jackson Jr. Their defense has a chance to be the best in the league.
Smart's career 32 percent shooting from 3 does present some issues. The Grizzlies will have to put a lot of shooting around those two when they play together.
More than anything, Smart brings veteran leadership to a locker room that sounded like it needed it. The Grizzlies have played with a certain edge that have made them great, but they've gone too far over the edge at some of their most critical points. That has led to them very publicly moving off Dillon Brooks and seeking to clean up their culture. Perhaps Smart can be the mentor that they need.
There were some good players at the end of this draft, and the Grizzlies have been great at finding value in that range. Giving up two picks and Jones is rough but worth it.
Grizzlies grade: B+
Wizards trade grade
The Wizards did a nice piece of business here. They risked losing Porzingis for nothing. He easily could have opted out of his deal and walked. Instead, they got a solid point guard in Jones that they can flip for more assets down the line, the 35th pick in the draft, and two expiring contracts in Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala that there should also be interest in throughout the league.
The Wizards are setting themselves up very nicely to have a ton of cap space when it becomes a premium asset under the new collective bargaining agreement. They've picked a direction, and they are going to get a ton of draft picks over the next few years by taking on bad contracts around the league.
It ain't pretty, but this is the best way for them to set themselves up for the future.
Wizards trade grade: B+