Celtics to trade veteran big man to Hawks in three-team deal

One day after agreeing to trade Jrue Holiday, the Celtics are moving another starter. Kristaps Porzingis is headed to the Hawks in a three-team trade, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (Twitter link).

Atlanta will acquire Porzingis and a second-round pick in the deal; Terance Mann and Atlanta’s No. 22 pick in Wednesday’s draft are headed to the Nets; and the Celtics are acquiring Georges Niang and a second-round pick.

That second-round pick headed to Boston is coming from Atlanta and is the Cavaliers’ 2031 second-rounder, per Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).

The trade, coupled with the agreed-upon Holiday deal with Portland, will allow the Celtics to drop below the second tax apron by $4.5M, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith tweets. The two trades will reduce their projected luxury tax penalty by nearly $210M, cap expert Yossi Gozlan tweets.

Porzingis has an expiring $30.7M contract, while Niang’s expiring contract totals just $8.5M. With Clint Capela headed to free agency, it appears Porzingis will slot in as the Hawks’ starting center ahead of Onyeka Okongwu. He’ll give Atlanta a quality pick-and-roll partner to team up with franchise player Trae Young.

Porzingis has an extensive injury history and was hampered this past season by a lingering illness that affected him down the stretch and into the postseason, but the expectation is that he’ll be recovered by the fall. The veteran big man continues to produce at a high level when he’s available, having averaged 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 blocks in 28.8 minutes per game across 42 starts for the Celtics in 2024/25, with a shooting line of .483/.412/.809.

Mann has three years and $37.5M remaining on his contract. The Hawks had to give up a first-rounder to shed his contract. The Nets will use up $19M in cap space to make the deal, which can’t be completed until July 6, after the new league year begins and the July moratorium lifts.

Brooklyn will now control an amazing five first-rounders in Wednesday's draft — Nos. 8, 19, 22, 26, 27 — which undoubtedly will lead to more deals.