Sports
NBA Rumors: Jazz Were Ready to Offer Kristaps Porziņģis Bigger Contract Than Celtics – Bleacher Report
Before Kristaps Porziņģis landed with the Boston Celtics in a three-team trade, a rebuilding Western Conference team was reportedly gearing up to make him a lucrative offer in free agency.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Utah Jazz were “said to be preparing an offer in free agency for the 7-foot-3 Latvian expected to exceed the total compensation the Celtics can provide him.”
The Celtics acquired Porziņģis from the Washington Wizards and sent defensive standout Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of last week’s deal, which was the first blockbuster of the 2023 offseason. Boston also landed two first-round picks from Memphis: the No. 25 pick this year and a 2024 top-four protected pick via the Golden State Warriors.
Stein noted that the Jazz were “also expressing interest in serving as the third team in the trade.” However, he added that the deal ultimately came down to Porziņģis’ personal preference regardless of any money he may have left on the table by not testing the open market.
“Yet league sources reiterated over the weekend that Boston was Porziņģis’ preferred destination, prompting him to pick up next season’s $36 million player option before Wednesday’s midnight ET deadline to ensure that the trade would go through,” Stein wrote.
Porziņģis is coming off the best season of his eight-year career, as he averaged 23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 blocks in 32.6 minutes per game. The oft-injured big man appeared in 65 games, his most since the 2016-17 campaign when he was with the New York Knicks.
After losing out on an opportunity to court Porziņģis, the Jazz pivoted by acquiring veteran forward John Collins from the Atlanta Hawks on Monday. Utah surely will continue to be active this offseason as it tries to bounce back from a 37-45 finish to this past season.