May 7, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) warms up before the start of game two of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images David Butler II-Imagn Images

Kristaps Porzingis Offers Advice to Celtics Following Trade

Originally posted on Fastbreak on SI | By Justin Grasso | Last updated Sep 2, 2025 9:11 PM ET

At the start of the NBA offseason, the Boston Celtics did the expected and moved on from Kristaps Porzingis.

The Latvian big man ended up in a trade, which sent him to the Atlanta Hawks for the 2025-2026 season. With Porzingis out of the picture, Neemias Queta will get a chance to make a bigger impact for the Cs during a season where there is slightly less pressure to make a title run.

Admittedly, Porzingis hasn’t done too much analysis on the Celtics’ depth chart. So, when he was asked about his potential replacement in Boston, he couldn’t co-sign for Queta becoming a starter.

“Good question,” he told reporters at EuroBasket.

“Who else is there? I don’t know. I haven’t thought about their roster, honestly, too deep.”

Porzingis didn’t think much about Queta’s status as a starter, but he’s seen a lot of improvement from the 26-year-old over the last couple of seasons. Therefore, a larger role, Porzingis can co-sign.

“Neemi has been getting better each year, and Coach Mazzulla has been pretty tough on him,” Porzingis added.

“I believe that he’s getting to a point where he deserves some real minutes, some real rotation minutes. He’s been putting in the work, and you can see how he’s playing now in the tournament. I’m happy for Neemi. He’s a great, great dude, really cool person, and puts in the time, puts in the work. I’ll be happy to see him getting a lot more minutes this year.”

Queta has been in the NBA since 2021. He is a former second-round pick out of Utah State.

In three NCAA seasons, Queta was a full-time starter. He was productive by averaging 13 points, nine rebounds, and two assists, while making 59 percent of his shots from the field.

He was selected 39th overall by the Sacramento Kings after his junior year.

After playing in just 20 games with the Kings across two seasons, Queta joined the Celtics on a two-way contract two Septembers ago. During the 2023-2024 championship run, Queta averaged just 11.9 minutes of action in 28 games. He didn’t have a role in the postseason.

Last year, Queta’s role increased slightly. He made 62 appearances during the regular season, seeing the court for an average of 13.9 minutes per game. He posted averages of 5 points and 3.8 rebounds.

Queta could enter training camp as the Celtics’ projected starter. The team also has Luka Garza, Xavier Tillman, and Chris Boucher on board.

The veteran’s progress will have to show during the upcoming preseason, but the EuroBasket run has been promising so far. Queta has averaged 15 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2 blocks in four games while playing for Portugal on the Euro stage.