NBA free agency 2023: Kristaps Porziņģis gets $60 million extension from Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics reached an agreement on a two-year, $60 million extension for Kristaps Porziņģis a week after acquiring the one-time All-Star center in a trade, sources told Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer.
The Celtics traded Marcus Smart and salary in a three-team deal that returned Porziņģis from the Washington Wizards and multiple-first round picks from the Memphis Grizzlies prior to the NBA Draft.
Porziņģis is due $36 million from the Celtics this coming season, and the extension will keep him under contract through the 2025-26 campaign. Much of Boston's rotation is signed for at least the next two seasons, save for extension-eligible All-NBA forward Jaylen Brown and restricted free agent Grant Williams.
Porziņģis averaged a career-high 23.2 points (50/39/85 shooting splits), 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 blocks in 32.6 minutes per game over 65 appearances for the 35-win Wizards last season. The 27-year-old is three years removed from surgery on his right meniscus and five years removed from left ACL surgery.
Asked at Thursday's introductory news conference for Porziņģis if the Celtics intended to extend their latest addition, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said, "We’ll have a chance to talk here in the next couple of days or weeks or whatever it is, but obviously we really like Kristaps. We want him here."
Celtics teammates Brown and Jayson Tatum are also in line for extensions this summer and next, respectively, at the supermax level, and Porziņģis hopes to complement them for at least three seasons.
"I want to come here to make life easier for those guys," he told reporters, excited about the chance to chase titles. "Hopefully, with my skill set and my talent, I can take some pressure off of those guys. And that's it. I come here to try to make this team better, and I'm excited to play with such high-level guys that have been there from year to year and have that experience already. I think it can be a great combination."
