While there is a consensus among fans and observers that the Celtics will certainly look to trade oft-injured big man Kristaps Pozingis this offseason, the fact is, on the heirarchy of trade options, Porzingis is not No. 1. He has an expiring contract, after all, so dealing him provides only a small measure of relief.
Moving off the future three years and $105 million on Jrue Holiday's deal would be a more significant transaction, especially if it could come alongside a move of Porzingis. Even if the Celtics have to keep Porzingis in 2025-26, his deal will run up next summer.
The Celtics could make one move to get under the dreaded second apron of the luxury tax, then realize more savings when Porzingis comes off the books in 2026. The Celtics need to cut payroll by $20 million to get under the second apron.
"You'd like to clear out as much as you can," one NBA exec said. "But if you can get under the apron for this year, and maybe get under the tax altogether next year by just letting Porzingis be a free agent, that would be the situation you want."
If Porzingis is to be traded, it appears he'd likely be traded West. The Bulls would be a potential destination, one of the few in the East. But reporter Jake Fischer named the Suns as one doing background on Porzingis for a deal. There are potentially more.
"New Orleans is one that I think they're looking at everything," the exec said. "It's hard to see how a deal works there, but if you've got a bunch of teams involved, that's a possibility. Utah is the other one. If the Celtics attached a draft pick and they felt like they could move on from the pieces they'd get from Utah, that works, too."
Indeed, if the Celtics moved Porzingis and a pick to Utah for the likes of Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton, they could likely turn around and trade one of those two to realize the needed savings, or simply make it a three-team trade.
However it plays out, the Celtics would like to get their deals done sooner rather than later.
