The Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies agreed to a three-team trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Celtics, Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies and Tyus Jones to the Wizards, according to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
As part of the deal, the Grizzlies sent the Celtics a first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft — the 25th overall pick– and the Golden State Warriors’ top-four-protected first-round pick in 2024, while the Celtics traded the 35th pick to the Wizards.
Boston also traded Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala to Washington.
The three-team trade came together in the minutes leading up to a midnight ET deadline for Porzingis to opt-in to his $36 million player option for the 2023-24 season. With the trade completed, Porzingis opted in and could sign a contract extension with the Celtics.
The trade capped a long day of negotiations involving the Celtics and Wizards over a possible Porzingis deal after the two teams first attempted to hammer out a three-team agreement with the Los Angeles Clippers that would have sent Malcolm Brogdon to the Clippers, the 30th pick in the draft to the Wizards and Porzingis to the Celtics. However, the Clippers had concerns over Brogdon’s health.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies & Washington Wizards Updates
When that deal fell apart, Boston pivoted to talks with Memphis, allowing this deal to come together just before the deadline.
The Celtics now have a Big 3 of Porzingis, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, while the Grizzlies have two of the best defenders in the NBA in Smart and Jaren Jackson Jr. Smart and Jackson Jr. have won the last two Defensive Player of the Year Awards.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Kristaps Porzingis, Tyus Jones & Marcus Smart Updates
As for the Wizards, they are in rebuild mode after trading Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns. New president Michael Winger, who used to work with the Clippers, was expected to embark on a rebuild this offseason.
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