The Celtics Make Their Second Big Trade Of The Summer And Essentially Salary Dump Kristaps Porzingis To The Hawks

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

Ever since Brad Stevens pulled the trigger on the Jrue Holiday trade, every Celtics fan has been on edge. Once the floodgates opened, we all knew what it meant. That wasn't going to be the only trade we had to brace ourselves for, and they were most likely coming quickly. It's been a full day of nervous scrolling and refreshing the timeline waiting for the news to drop, because it wasn't a matter of "if", it was a matter of "when".

Well, now we have it

First and foremost, let's be very clear about something. This was a textbook salary dump. Celts didn't get the best player traded (Mann), didn't get the better pick, and simply got the salary relief they needed to get under the 2nd apron. While the Jrue Holiday trade brought back a potential future asset in Anfernee Simons, I cannot imagine that's the case for a 32 year old George Niang. This was about getting off the money, getting a 2nd round pick for your troubles, and calling it a day. The Nets/Hawks had the trade mechanisms to make this salary dump work, and it's a move we all know Brad was going to be making.

And just like with Jrue, I would like to take a second and thank KP for his contributions to Banner 18. I know how it ended, I know our fears about his availability back in 2023 ultimately ended up being true, but we'll always have Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals. That performance alone made it worth it

Given what Brad intended when he traded for KP, I'd say from a skillet perspective KP was exactly as advertised. He was a monster at abusing switches, his range was legit, the rim protection was elite, and he brought an element to the Celts at both ends of the floor that took them to a championship level. The downsides were all the things we worried about. He could be bullied, his injury history, that stull ended up being as advertised as well. But he was a player who immediately embraced the Celts and the city, so in my opinion, the KP experiment was a success. It was short lived, but a success nonetheless.

Now, if the goal this summer was to get under the 2nd apron, this certainly helps. It's important to remember, that while at the moment they are around $4.5M under, that does not factor in whatever money that could potentially go to Horford or Kornet. So it wouldn't surprise me if

A) We see Niang re-routed

B) Brad also trades Hauser

It's also important to note that this trade can't go down until July 6th, so there's still time to expand things. 

Personally, I'd take that 2nd you just got in this trade and attach it to Niang in a re-route. I don't think we need the gap year wing minutes to be blocked by a 32 year old Niang, but I suppose at the very worst, you could flip him at the deadline. But as of now, the Celts' defense includes both Anfernee Simons and George Niang in the rotation. That……is an issue. Given how close you are to the apron with this current roster, that makes finding resources to hide those issues pretty damn hard if your goal is to stay under the 2nd apron. That's partially why I wonder if Niang gets re-routed somehow. Chop $8M more off the apron space so you can afford to add better talent to shore up needs that you now have.

At the end of the day, it just sucks that all of this is due to the CBA restrictions. Even though we've known for 2 years that this day was coming, that doesn't make it any less annoying that it's already here. This is why winning a title when your window is open is so important in this new world. If you blow it, not only might you never get back, but you'll be forced to dismantle your team before you know it. The same shit happening to the Celts right now is what's coming for CLE/MIL/NYK etc, and one day the defending champs in OKC once their rookies get their max extensions combined with SGA's max. This is what the NBA wanted.

The first two big dominoes are down, but don't think for a second that Brad Stevens is done. If anything, the Celts are just getting started, which means tomorrow at the Draft should be completely insane. Just thinking about it makes me want to puke, but that's the price you pay for title contention nowadays.