The NBA world seemed to be on fire when it was reported that Kristaps Porzingis would be traded to the Boston Celtics in a three-team deal that sent Malcolm Brogdon to the LA Clippers and Marcus Morris Sr. to the Washington Wizards.
Unfortunately, trade talks have broken down before the teams could make it official, meaning each player will stay with their existing teams for now.
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
Woj has clarified that Washington is still looking to find ways to send Porzingis to the Celtics but without the help of the Clippers this time.
The Wizards are 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, sources tell ESPN. Porzingis still has the ability to decline his $36 million player option and become a free agent.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2023
This trade was likely to fall apart, given it was agreed upon before Porzingis even accepted his player option for the last year of his contract. He could easily opt out and look to secure a long-term contract on the market instead of playing as an expiring contract on a new team. We’ll have to wait till midnight to see KP’s decision on his contract.
Could This Deal Still Happen?
It seems the Clippers felt the need to not get Malcolm Brogdon to address their guard concerns, which indicates the team may have a solution on that front, like a possible Chris Paul acquisition, or concerns about Brogdon’s career-long track record of injuries.
The Celtics don’t necessarily have young players or useless contracts that they can throw at the Wizards to make the deal a one-on-one trade, so a new third team could emerge soon to make this possible.
Porzingis averaged 23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists last season and played 65 games. The Celtics could definitely use his size on the interior alongside Robert Williams. Porzingis also has a smooth offensive skill set that can fit into the Celtics’ current system with ease. It’s a race against time for the team to ensure this deal gets done.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
