Celtics Rumors

Celtics Notes: Porzingis, Holiday Trade, Scrubb

Kristaps Porzingis was the Celtics‘ best player during the first half of his preseason debut with the team, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Boston traded for Porzingis this summer to add size to its frontcourt, and Himmelsbach observes that his 7’3″ presence clearly bothered the Sixers in the paint in Sunday’s game.

Porzingis made his first four shots from the field and finished with 17 points. Although he doesn’t present the lob threat that Robert Williams used to, Himmelsbach notes that the Celtics had success on a couple of attempts. Porzingis and Jayson Tatum also displayed some chemistry in their two-man game.

“It’s super easy, honestly,” Porzingis said. “Those guys are so talented. Jayson draws so much attention that it opens things up for me and that’s a perfect scenario for me. So I’m looking forward to more of those two-man, three-man actions where it’s really hard to guard, because we don’t even know what we’re going to do. We’re freestyling it and playing off of each other. So it has to be pretty impossible for the other team to understand what’s going to happen.”

There’s more on the Celtics:

  • Jrue Holiday came off the bench Sunday, but that’s because he wasn’t able to join the team for practice until Wednesday, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. Holiday admits being “shocked” that the Bucks sent him to Portland in the Damian Lillard deal, but he’s ready to concentrate on basketball after being dealt twice within a week. “I think I’m over it at this point,” Holiday said. “Trying to focus on the season. Trying to get acclimated and honestly go out there and have fun. All the trade stuff I think has passed. Just trying to figure out names and plays and schemes and all of that stuff. It’s been fun though.”
  • The Clippers were Boston’s main competition for Holiday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski stated during the network’s pre-game show before Sunday’s contest (Twitter link). “They were very close on Jrue Holiday,” Wojnarowski said. “They had a package that Portland really had to labor over before they went to the Celtics’ package.”
  • Celtics officials are disappointed to see Jay Scrubb‘s progress interrupted by a torn ACL he suffered in Saturday’s practice, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. They signed the 23-year-old guard to a two-way contract this summer. “It’s painful to see him have to go through that because of this mindset that he’s brought from training camp and really in Summer League,” coach Joe Mazzulla said. “As I told him, these are the type of things that guys have to just work through.”

Kornet Has Inside Track As Backup Center

The extension agreement between the Celtics and backup guard Payton Pritchard is a win-win for both parties, Jared Weiss of The Athletic opines. He agreed to a four-year rookie scale extension worth approximately $30MM.

It would have been difficult for suitors to give Pritchard a reasonable offer sheet as a restricted free agent next summer. Meanwhile, the Celtics aren’t in a position to make another trade to push down the depth chart as it did last season with Malcolm Brogdon, Weiss notes. Plus, Pritchard remains a valuable trade chip if Boston seeks more wing or center depth.

  • Luke Kornet has the inside track on the backup center role for the Celtics, Weiss tweets. “It starts with Luke. I thought Luke really did a great job last year,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I think he’s an underrated player and I don’t think people realize how effective he is. He’s a guy that’s always in the right spot defensively (and) makes the right play.”

USA Basketball Aggressively Pursuing Jrue Holiday For Olympics

Jrue Holiday has had a whirlwind offseason. The new Celtics point guard now has something else to ponder — a spot on Team USA’s roster for the Olympics.

USA Basketball is aggressively pursuing Holiday to return to Team USA and play in Paris, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.

Holiday, 33, is still mulling whether to accept the offer. There are 12 coveted spots on Team USA’s Olympic roster.

USA Basketball is trying to bounce back from this summer’s disappointing showing in the FIBA World Cup, in which it failed to win a medal. Many of the country’s star players skipped the World Cup.

USA Basketball officials considered Holiday the second-most-impactful player, after Kevin Durant, on the 2021 gold medal team. Holiday’s on-ball defense, play-making and leadership are among the factors behind USA Basketball’s recruitment, Wojnarowski adds.

The Olympic team is expected to include LeBron James, Durant, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum, if they accept invitations. Some other star players who publicly volunteered recently won’t be extended invitations, according to Wojnarowski. There’s no timetable on a Holiday decision.

Holiday, of course, has other things on his mind as he tries to adapt to another Eastern Conference contender. He was traded twice in recent weeks, first to Portland from Milwaukee in the Damian Lillard blockbuster and then to the Celtics.

Celtics’ Jay Scrubb Suffers Torn ACL

Celtics reserve Jay Scrubb suffered a torn right ACL during practice on Saturday, the team’s PR department tweets.

Scrubb, a second-round pick in 2020, signed a two-way contract with Boston in mid-July after a strong Summer League showing. He averaged 16.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in those four games.

A 23-year-old guard, Scrubb finished last season with the Magic after signing a two-way contract in late March. He was waived in June.

Scrubb appeared in two games for Orlando late in the season, but spent most of his time in the G League. He averaged 22.2 points for the Lakeland Magic over 28 games, including 25 starts.

He previously played for the Clippers, appearing in a total 22 NBA games over two seasons.

Four NBA Teams Carrying Fewer Than 14 Standard Contracts

While NBA teams aren’t required to maintain a full 15-man standard roster during the regular season, they do have to carry at least 14 players on standard contracts. During the regular season, a club isn’t permitted to carry fewer than 14 players on standard contracts for more than two weeks at a time — or more than 28 total days.

[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: NBA Roster Limits]

We have a pretty good idea of which 14 or 15 players will be on most teams’ standard rosters to begin the season, but there are four clubs currently carrying fewer than 14 players on standard contracts.

For clarity’s sake, a “standard” contract isn’t necessarily a fully guaranteed contract. It’s simply a full-season deal that isn’t a two-way contract and doesn’t include Exhibit 9 or Exhibit 10 language. Four teams are carrying just 13 of those contracts.

In order for these four teams to set their rosters for the regular season, they’ll either have to keep at least one player on a training camp (Exhibit 9/10) contract or will have to add at least one new player via trade or free agency.

Here are the four teams to watch:

Boston Celtics

In addition to their 10 players with fully guaranteed salaries, the Celtics have Luke Kornet, Svi Mykhailiuk, and Dalano Banton on standard deals. Kornet projects to be a rotation player, and Mykhailiuk and Banton have partial guarantees, so all three players seem like good bets to make the 15-man roster.

Wenyen Gabriel and Lamar Stevens are also in camp with the Celtics on Exhibit 9 contracts, and one of those two guys appears likely to become Boston’s 14th man. It’s also possible both Gabriel and Stevens make the team to start the season — neither player’s salary would become fully guaranteed until January, so the Celtics would have some time to assess the duo while essentially paying them by the day.

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors have 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts and – like the Celtics – have a pair of veterans in camp on Exhibit 9 contracts. Veteran forward Rudy Gay and wing Rodney McGruder look to be vying to become Golden State’s 14th man.

If neither veteran impresses the Warriors, there are other ways the team could fill out its roster. For instance, a two-way player like Lester Quinones or Usman Garuba could be promoted to a standard contract and an Exhibit 10 player such as Donovan Williams, Kendric Davis, or Javan Johnson could fill that two-way slot. I’d expect one of Gay or McGruder to make the cut though.

This is another scenario where both veterans could technically make the roster if Golden State is comfortable carrying a full 15-man squad. However, it’s worth noting that both the Celtics and Warriors are well above the luxury tax line and may prefer to save some money rather than having a 15th man to start the season.

Miami Heat

After not trading for Damian Lillard or Jrue Holiday, the Heat looked like a good candidate to add one more veteran free agent, perhaps a point guard. After all, Miami only has 12 players with fully guaranteed salaries, plus big man Orlando Robinson, who has a small partial guarantee and will likely make the team.

However, the Heat – who have a reputation for finding diamonds in the rough – reportedly want to give themselves every opportunity to write their next UDFA success story. So for now, they’re content to evaluate their five young players on Exhibit 10 contracts and three on two-way deals to see if any one of them is an obvious candidate for a promotion to the standard regular season roster.

If no one from that group emerges as Miami’s 14th man, the club could still add a free agent before the season begins. It’s worth mentioning, given the team’s lack of depth at the position, that former Heat point guards Kendrick Nunn and Goran Dragic are still seeking new contracts.

Portland Trail Blazers

With the dust settled following a pair of blockbuster pre-camp trades, the Trail Blazers now have 12 players on fully guaranteed contracts, plus Moses Brown on a partially guaranteed deal.

Unlike the other three teams on this list, Portland isn’t a taxpayer, so there’s no reason the team shouldn’t be looking to carry a full 15-man roster to open the regular season. So perhaps there’s a path for two camp invitees to make the team.

Kevin Knox is the biggest name in that group, though he only has an Exhibit 10 deal. Big man Duop Reath is also worth watching, as he’s the only camp invitee whose contract doesn’t have an Exhibit 10 clause. That means he’s less likely to be ticketed for the Rip City Remix, Portland’s G League affiliate, if he gets waived.

The Blazers’ open roster spots also give them the flexibility to take on an extra player or two if they make one more preseason trade, perhaps involving Malcolm Brogdon. If no trade materializes by opening night, I’d expect the club to maintain that roster flexibility by not signing any more free agents to guaranteed contracts.

Atlantic Notes: Siakam, Smith, Simmons, Williams

Raptors forward Pascal Siakam can become a free agent after the 2023/24 season, but that hasn’t seemed to impact his approach to the season, Josh Lewenberg of TSN writes. Siakam has been a professional during training camp, Lewenberg says, smiling and joking with teammates and getting in extra reps with the coaching staff.

Siakam’s name came up in trade talks this summer, cementing his uncertain future with the franchise, and team president Masai Ujiri confirmed that the two sides hadn’t discussed an extension.

We do believe in Pascal,” Ujiri said. “[But] we believe that a lot of our players didn’t play the right way last year and we want to see them play the right way. I said that we were selfish; I’m not running away from that. We were selfish and we did not play the right way. So, let us see it when we play the right way.

It seemed as though Siakam pushed back in a subsequent comment, Lewenberg writes.

I’ll speak for me, personally, I’ve never been a selfish player in my life,” Siakam said. “I’ve always played the game the right way and that’s from the first time I started playing basketball. I’ve always been a team player.

The Raptors finished last season 41-41, ending as the No. 9 seed and losing to the Bulls in the play-in tournament. Despite last season’s disappointment and unsettled contract business, Siakam is ready for the upcoming season under new coach Darko Rajakovic, according to Lewenberg.

At the end of the day, I think what makes me special is I’m a hooper,” Siakam said. “When people work out in the summer and they do one-on-one workouts, I want to play basketball because I want to be able to understand the game, play off of guys and not just do drills and be a robot. That’s my strength as a player. So I’m definitely not worried about that. I know that my abilities on a basketball court will always prevail in any situation I’m put in.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Nets are counting on Dennis Smith Jr. being a different player than the last time he was in New York with the Knicks, Dan Martin of the New York Post writes. Smith was sent to the G League during his stint with the Knicks and averaged 5.5 points per game in the year after he was sent there. Now, Smith is one of the more impressive defensive guards in the league and both Martin and Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily note his importance to Brooklyn and explore his evolution. “The biggest thing for me was just checking the ego,” Smith said. “I checked the ego and just learned how to shift my mental into being able to fit whatever role I needed to play and finding a way to stay in it. It’s paying off for me, I’m in a really good spot now.
  • Nets play-maker Ben Simmons has had an eventful past two years since being named an All-Star for three years in a row in Philadelphia. Since being traded to Brooklyn at the deadline in ’21/22, Simmons has appeared in just 42 games, all coming last season, averaging 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists in those contests. Plenty of eyes are on Simmons this year and, as explored in a separate story by Martin, coach Jacque Vaughn said the early results for the 6’10” guard are encouraging. “I think what we’ve seen is his ability to push the basketball and do it over and over again; play with an extreme amount of pace; get to the rim [and] play with force,” Vaughn said. “All the things we were asking and I was searching for last year.
  • While Jrue Holiday is a major addition for the Celtics, Steve Bulpett of Heavy Sports argues that the loss of Robert Williams is bigger than it seems. Williams’ injury history makes it easier to have moved on from him, Bulpett writes, but he’s a fantastic rim protector and lob threat and Boston’s rotation of bigs doesn’t have an easy replacement on the roster.

Celtics Notes: Payroll, Gabriel, Pierce, Tatum

The Celtics, on track to be a taxpaying team in 2023/24 for a second consecutive year, extended Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis to lucrative new contracts this offseason and may do the same with Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday within the next year. Those financial commitments mean the franchise is projected to remain over the second tax apron in the coming years, but co-owner Wyc Grousbeck downplayed any concern about the payroll, according to Souchi Terada of MassLive.com.

“We haven’t blinked at all,” Grousbeck said. “I was part of the committee that put the aprons in place with the players committee and we’re aware of all that. We’re going to be over the second (apron), I believe, and paying those penalties and that’s the way life is. But it’s designed also we can have more competition in the league, and we’re fine with competition, as long as we win.”

While paying increased tax penalties is one thing, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement will also place additional free agency and trade-related limitations on teams above the second tax apron. The rules that apply to teams over the second apron will become more restrictive in future seasons, limiting the Celtics’ ability to continue upgrading their roster as long as they maintain their high payroll.

Let’s round up a few more notes out of Boston…

  • Wenyen Gabriel‘s new one-year contract with the Celtics is a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Boston only has 10 players only fully guaranteed contracts, with three on non-guaranteed standard deals, so Gabriel (along with Lamar Stevens, who also signed an Exhibit 9 deal) still has a path to a regular season roster spot.
  • Former Celtics star Paul Pierce, who attended the team’s practice on Thursday, plans to be a “more visible presence” around the organization this year, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. When Pierce was a Celtic, he explained on Thursday, former Boston stars like Bill Russell and John Havlicek often visited and spent time around the club. He wants to continue that tradition. “It just (brought) a certain energy to the building whenever I saw those guys in practice or at the game,” Pierce said. “So I think it kind of continues the brotherhood. It’s all part of our culture and that is something that the Celtics have always been about.”
  • Speaking to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, Tatum expressed excitement about the Celtics’ addition of Holiday, discussed the departures of some longtime teammates, and said he’s not thinking about the possibility of signing a record-setting contract extension next summer.

Celtics Sign, Waive Kylor Kelley

OCTOBER 5: As expected, the Celtics have waived Kelley, per NBA.com’s transaction log.


OCTOBER 3: The Celtics have signed free agent center Kylor Kelley to an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac.

Kelley, 26, has played in England, Denmark, Canada, and the G League since going undrafted out of Oregon State in 2020. The seven-footer appeared in 21 NBAGL games for the Raptors 905 last season, averaging 7.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 15.3 minutes per night. He most recently played for the Calgary Surge in the Canadian Elite Basketball League this spring and summer.

Kelley’s G League rights were traded from the Raptors 905 to the Maine Celtics in a deal last month. That’s a strong signal that Boston intends to waive Kelley before the regular season begins and have him report to Maine.

Assuming Kelley spends at least 60 days with the Celtics’ G League team, he’ll be eligible to earn an Exhibit 10 bonus. Those bonuses can be worth up to $75K.

Boston now has 19 players officially under contract. The team has also reportedly reached an agreement with big man Wenyen Gabriel that hasn’t yet been finalized.

Celtics Notes: Holiday, Mazzulla, Gabriel, Redick

Celtics owners, front office members and even Hall of Famers were raving about Jrue Holiday‘s performance Wednesday in his first practice with the team, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Co-owner Wyc Grousbeck said the energy reminded him of the first practice session after Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were acquired in 2007. Co-owner Steve Pagliuca said Paul Pierce told him he had never seen anything to match Holiday’s intensity, then Pagliuca offered a few superlatives of his own.

“I don’t think we’ve ever seen Jaylen Brown be stopped going to the hoop with a full head of steam, and he just ran right into Jrue,” Pagliuca said. “And that was it. It was incredible. One of the most incredible things I’ve seen in practice.”

Pagliuca added that the organization has been enamored with Holiday for years and had been hoping he would eventually become available. That opportunity arose after he was sent to Portland last week in the Damian Lillard trade, and the Celtics were determined that they wouldn’t be outbid when the Trail Blazers put him back on the market. Holiday said that as soon as the trade was finalized, Boston coach Joe Mazzulla sent him video clips of the team’s pick-and-roll coverages and offensive sets.

“From the beginning, (Mazzulla’s) told me my role is to do everything,” Holiday said. “Do everything, be all over the floor defensively, be able to control situations offensively, situations to calm us down and get good shots toward the end of games. But I think when it comes down to it, it’s about winning. It’s about keeping this culture of winning and Joe’s a part of that and the way he’s communicated with me has been awesome.”

There’s more from Boston:

  • Holiday told reporters that the Celtics have already had discussions with him about a contract extension and are hoping to reach an agreement on a long-term deal as soon as he becomes eligible, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
  • Holiday credits Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin for helping him get to a place where he wanted to be, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “Portland blessed me,” Holiday said. “Joe Cronin did a great job of communicating with me on how I wanted to proceed. … Working with him was very easy, very seamless, and made all of this possible.”
  • Wenyen Gabriel, who signed with the Celtics on Tuesday, hopes to provide an answer to the team’s need for frontcourt depth, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. Gabriel isn’t guaranteed a roster spot, but he believes he can provide what the team needs. “I’m not thinking they’re expecting me to do anything new that’s out of the character of what I’ve already done in terms of bringing energy, toughness, getting us extra possessions, being able to switch, being versatile out there, running the floor, being athletic, blocking shots,” Gabriel said. “There’s a lot of different things I can do defensively, being a good help defender. So there’s a lot of things that I already do as a player.”
  • Former NBA guard JJ Redick revealed on his podcast that the Celtics offered him a job as an assistant coach last September and again when Damon Stoudamire left in March, relays Brian Robb of MassLive.

Trade Breakdown: Kristaps Porzingis To The Celtics

This is the first entry in our series breaking down the significant trades of the 2023 offseason. As opposed to giving out grades, this series explores why the teams were motivated to make the moves. Let’s dive into a three-team blockbuster between the Celtics, Grizzlies and Wizards…


On June 23:


The Celtics’ perspective:

Dealing away one of the longest-tenured players in the league, an accomplished veteran who won Defensive Player of the Year just two seasons ago, certainly wasn’t an easy decision for Boston. It’s pretty clear that moving Smart wasn’t the team’s top priority, as an earlier version of this trade involved Malcolm Brogdon instead, but it was reportedly scuttled because the Clippers didn’t have time to evaluate the Sixth Man of the Year’s elbow (Brogdon was later flipped to Portland in the Jrue Holiday blockbuster).

Smart has long been considered the heart of the Celtics due to his consistent effort, energy and intensity. Who will fill his leadership void? They’re hoping that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown step up to the plate; we’ll see how that plays out.

That’s not to say Smart is without flaws. He has never been an efficient scorer, and has had an unfortunate penchant for forcing out-of-rhythm shots at the end of games throughout his career.

While he wasn’t directly involved in this transaction, you could easily argue that later moving off Grant Williams was a financial byproduct of the deal. The Celtics added a little over $7MM to their salary cap figure (and far more to their luxury tax bill) by trading for Porzingis, which made going further into the tax to pay Williams less palatable.

It’s worth noting that this trade framework would not have been possible for the Celtics if Porzingis had declined his option and entered free agency. The deal was made in June, when the old CBA was in effect — it was more lenient for teams above the first tax apron.

If the Celtics had tried to do a sign-and-trade for Porzingis a couple weeks later, they would have been required to add more money for salary-matching purposes, and that could have been a deal-breaker for Washington (Boston also would have been hard-capped in that scenario, another significant obstacle).

Gallinari never suited up for Boston after tearing his ACL last year, and Muscala was a trade deadline acquisition who wasn’t in the team’s postseason rotation. Given their advancing ages (Gallinari is 35; Muscala 32) and defensive limitations, neither were likely to be around beyond this season.

Porzingis, on the other hand, just turned 28 and is coming off a career year in which he averaged 23.2 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1.5 BPG on .498/.385/.851 shooting in 65 games (32.6 MPG). He’s theoretically entering his prime. The Celtics have never had a frontcourt player who can score like the 7’3″ big man during the Tatum/Brown era.

Porzingis’ size, timing and willingness to contest shots makes him a formidable rim protector defensively, but he’s not particularly agile and isn’t a great rebounder. Asking him to patrol the perimeter doesn’t play to his strengths on that end, but he can make a real impact roaming and in the paint.

Offensively, Porzingis is an incredibly difficult cover if he’s hot on a given day, because he can simply shoot over the grand majority of players. He has deep range from beyond the arc and can score from all over the court, and is good at leveraging the threat of his shooting to drive and draw fouls. He has to be accounted for at all times.

Actually getting Porzingis the ball to maximize his impact on that end might be an issue. With Tatum, Brown, Porzingis and now Holiday in the mix, the Celtics have a lot of players who like to shoot. It will be interesting to see how the team’s shot distribution shakes out.

Porzingis picked up his $36MM player option as part of the deal, and the Celtics later signed him to a two-year, $60MM extension, seemingly making him a franchise cornerstone for the next three years.

Boston also received the draft rights to Marcus Sasser (the No. 25 pick) and Golden State’s 2024 first-rounder (top-four protected) from Memphis, while sending Julian Phillips (the No. 35 pick) to Washington (Phillips was later flipped to Chicago). The Celtics made multiple draft-night deals and accumulated several future second-round picks, ultimately sending Sasser to Detroit while selecting Jordan Walsh.

That Warriors pick has some upside, but the 2024 draft class is considered pretty weak right now. Golden State’s core is aging and Stephen Curry has missed a significant amount of time over the past handful of seasons – depending on health, there’s a chance it could be a lottery pick, though it could also end up being a late first-rounder if everything goes right for the Warriors.

Instead of keeping the pick, the Celtics used it as part of the package for Holiday, doubling down on their aggressive offseason overhaul by once again sacrificing depth for top-end talent.

The Porzingis trade carries a good deal of risk for Boston. That risk comes in multiple forms.

For starters, Porzingis has been injury prone over the course of his career, making him an inherently high-risk, high-reward player. He was held out of the World Cup for Lativa due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot, which was concerning, but he says he’s “totally fine” now.

Porzingis’ lengthy injury history ties into Boston’s depth, or lack thereof. Boston’s six-man group of Derrick White, Holiday, Brown, Tatum, Porzingis and Al Horford has as much two-way talent as any team in the league. But Horford is 37 years old, and there are major question marks beyond those six players.

Still, it’s not like the Celtics are any different in that regard than the Bucks, Nuggets and other contenders who have elite top-end talent but shaky depth. And if Boston is healthy entering the playoffs, it will be on a very short list of favorites for its 18th NBA title.

The other primary risk of the deal is that the Celtics added a lot of salary – both now and in the future – by trading for and then extending Porzingis. Their financial commitments will only grow over time, as Brown received a super-max extension that will kick in starting in 2024/25, while Tatum will likely receive his own super-max deal next summer (that will begin in ‘25/26). Holiday is also up for a new deal; he could be a free agent in 2024 if he declines his player option.

Most teams decided to shed long-term salaries this offseason in an effort to avoid the punitive second tax apron. The Celtics obviously felt that adding Porzingis (and later Holiday) to a talented roster increased their championship odds, a gamble deemed necessary after losing in the NBA Finals in ‘21/22 and falling in the Eastern Conference Finals last season.


The Grizzlies’ perspective:

Initially, I was surprised that the Grizzlies were willing to give up a fairly strong haul of assets to acquire Smart. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

Jones has been a valuable role player for Memphis over the past four seasons. He’s historically great at taking care of the basketball, having led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio each of the past five seasons. His steady presence was a nice complement to Ja Morant’s risk-taking play-style.

However, he’s on an expiring $14MM contract, while Smart won’t become a free agent until 2026 — he’ll earn $60.6MM over the next three years. Having long-term team control is important for small market franchises like the Grizzlies, as they aren’t a free agent (or trade request) destination.

There’s no question that Smart is a direct upgrade over Jones defensively. He’s bigger, stronger and much more versatile – capable of switching across four positions. Jones is solid at defending smaller guards, but lacks the size and strength to defend up the positional spectrum.

That versatility should allow Smart to play alongside Morant more comfortably than Jones could. It was a nice change of pace offensively to have Morant off the ball at times, but it made Memphis far more exploitable on the other end when Morant and Jones were on the court together.

Smart is also better at creating his own shot on offense than Jones, and is a quality play-maker in his own right, even if his shooting is extremely streaky from game to game.

One of the best attributes that Smart will bring to Memphis is his leadership and willingness to hold teammates accountable. Given Morant’s well-documented off-court troubles over the past year-plus, adding a vocal veteran leader like Smart makes a lot of sense. That’s not to say Jones isn’t a leader in his own right, but the Grizzlies clearly needed to shake things up after a disappointing playoff run saw them lose to the Lakers in the first round.

Late first-round picks like Sasser are a crapshoot – they can be hidden gems, or out of the league after a few years. The Grizzlies have plenty of youth on their roster, so consolidating some of their assets for a proven veteran was a logical choice.

As discussed above, the Warriors pick the Grizzlies sent out does have some upside value, but the 2024 draft currently isn’t viewed favorably, and Memphis still controls all of its own future first-round picks. This trade won’t prevent the Grizzlies from making a major all-in move down the line, if they choose to go that route.

Another angle to consider is Jones may have wanted — or at least been open to — a change of scenery. Despite being one of the top backups in the league, his earning potential would always have been limited in Memphis playing behind Morant. The star guard’s 25-game suspension doesn’t change that.

Jones will have an opportunity for a bigger role in Washington, and the Grizzlies may have increased their championship odds by adding Smart, who has won a ton of games over the years and been a part of several deep playoff runs with the Celtics.


The Wizards’ perspective:

A career backup, a couple of big men who can shoot but have major defensive limitations, a second-round pick, and a mid-sized traded player exception for a borderline All-Star? That’s all the Wizards could get for Porzingis?

That’s one (rather shortsighted) way to look at this trade. The other is Washington’s new front office simply got what it could, when it could for a player who was facing an imminent decision on his $36MM option. Had Porzingis declined his option and entered unrestricted free agency, he could have left the Wizards with nothing in return.

The Wizards picked up a proven point guard in Jones who should be a nice offensive complement alongside another new addition in Jordan Poole. One of Poole’s biggest weaknesses is turning the ball over, which is Jones’ greatest strength.

You could argue that acquiring Jones while later moving off Monte Morris — a player on a cheaper contract with similar strengths and weaknesses – doesn’t make much sense. However, the Wizards did receive a future second-round pick for Morris, and Jones has higher upside as a play-maker, even if his shot hasn’t been as consistent.

Since Jones, Gallinari and Muscala are all on expiring contracts, it’s certainly possible that all three players could be on the move before the February trade deadline. The Wizards are in the early stages of retooling their roster after dealing away Porzingis and Bradley Beal; continuing to accumulate assets is the most prudent course of action. If they can get positive returns, they might take them.

If Jones has a big year, maybe that means they re-sign him and trade him down the line. Maybe they just keep him for a few years – he’s only 27. There’s plenty of flexibility to work with there, which is valuable when the roster isn’t close to contention.

It’s hard to envision Gallinari having much value at his age and coming off a major injury, even if he’s had a long and very productive career. Still, maybe someone will bite and give up a second-rounder or two if he shows he’s healthy after a second ACL tear.

As for Muscala, he showed last season he could have positive trade value – the Celtics gave up a couple second-round picks to land him from OKC. His $3.5MM contract is the most affordable of the three players, which makes matching salaries easier as well, especially for the league’s top spenders.

By almost every metric, Porzingis was Washington’s best player last season. But the Wizards have been mired in mediocrity for years, and the old roster wasn’t going anywhere. The new front office had to make changes. They decided to accommodate Porzingis’ desire to go to Boston and tried to extract as much value for him as they could, given their limited leverage.