In the wake of Jayson Tatum‘s Achilles injury and their disappointing second-round exit, the Boston Celtics enter the offseason with so much uncertainty.
Multiple reports suggest that the Celtics will make significant changes to their expensive roster. One of those moves could involve their veteran center Kristaps Porzingis, who was a non-factor in the Celtics’ abruptly halted playoff run, NBA insider Marc Stein reported on Sunday.
“Most rival teams continue to regard Kristaps Porziņģis as the most movable Boston vet thanks to the Latvian big man’s $30.7 million expiring contract,” Stein wrote in his Substack newsletter, “The Stein Line.”
Porzingis signed a two-year, $60 million extension with the Celtics in 2023 upon his arrival in a three-team trade, which led to Marcus Smart‘s exit from Boston.
Kristaps Porzingis ‘Couldn’t Breathe’
The 7-foot-1 Latvian center played a pivotal role in his first season with the Celtics last year, which ended in Boston’s 18th championship. However, a mysterious respiratory illness rendered him ineffective in this dispirited Celtics playoff run, particularly in their second-round loss to the New York Knicks.
The 29-year-old center averaged just 4.2 points on 24% shooting across the six-game loss to the Knicks. He only played 15.5 minutes per game.
Following the Celtics’ Game 5 win, Boston coach Joe Mazulla said Porzingis struggled to breathe.
“I mean, he couldn’t breathe,” Mazzulla told reporters after their 127-102 win. “So, he was available if absolutely necessary.”
Mazulla benched Porzingis in the second half and relied on third-string Luke Kornet in the second half.
“That was just a decision between me and him,” Mazzulla said, explaining the decision to sit Porzingis for the remainder of the game. “He was having difficulties breathing. But he wanted to be out there, and if we absolutely needed him, we would have been able to go to him and rely on him.”
Shaky Boston Center Rotation
Kornet delivered a spirited performance with 10 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting, with nine rebounds and a career-high seven blocks in a playoff career-high 26 minutes. But the reserve big man could not replicate his Herculean effort in Game 6. Kornet finished with only five points and five rebounds with one block in the 119-81 loss.
Porzingis only played 11 minutes and produced four points and five rebounds.
A 38-year-old Al Horford, the other center on the team, scored 10 points but pulled only two rebounds in 27 minutes. Horford is an unrestricted free agent.
Addressing the Celtics’ shaky center rotation is one of the priorities of Celtics president Brad Stevens in the offseason.
Major Offseason Changes
Jay King of The Athletic reported in the aftermath of the Celtics’ second-round exit that the team is mulling major roster shakeup.
“Because of a payroll that would reach about $500 million if the Celtics simply hold onto their current roster, the front office was already thinking about significant offseason changes before Tatum’s injury, according to team sources,” King wrote.
The Athletic report only confirmed what everyone in the league has been suspecting, which ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on May 1.
“The rest of the league is bracing for some level of change to come to the Celtics roster this offseason,” Charania said on “The Pat McAfee Show” at the time. “Sources have been telling me for weeks now that the Celtics will be exploring trade options in the offseason.
“This iteration just is not going to be sustainable for this team and no one around the organization – from players to staffers – would be surprised if there are changes coming to this roster. Because when you think about the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, there’s restrictions that come with trades, there’s restrictions that come with freezing of draft picks. That’s all stuff that they’re dealing with right now.”
Porzingis could become the casualty of this planned roster shakeup.
