What are Kristaps Porzingis’ contract details with the Celtics? Taking a closer look at his salary and more

Late Wednesday night, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on a three-team deal that will land Washington Wizards big man Kristaps Porzingis with the Boston Celtics. The deal, which involves the Memphis Grizzlies, will send Celtics guard Marcus Smart to Memphis and Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones to Washington.

The Wizards will also be acquiring salary filler (Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala) along with the Celtics’ No. 35 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft. Meanwhile, the Celtics will be getting the No. 25 pick in Thursday’s draft and the Golden State Warriors’ top-four protected 2024 first-round pick from Memphis. To make the massive trade possible, Porzingis has opted into his $36 million player option for next season.

This means that Porzingis will play one year in Boston before becoming an unrestricted free agent next offseason, barring any extension. The $36 million that Porzingis will be making next season will mark the fifth and final year of the five-year, $158.3 million contract he signed with the Dallas Mavericks in 2019.

Porzingis averaged 23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.5 blocks and 2.1 3-pointers per game on 49.8% shooting over 65 games for the Wizards this past season.

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Adrian Wojnarowski on Kristaps Porzingis’ long-term future in Boston

Former Washington Wizards big man Kristaps Porzingis (left)

Following the news of the trade, Wojnarowski joined SportsCenter, where he was asked about Porzingis’ long-term future in Boston.

Wojnarowski noted that the Celtics have some tough decisions to make in the near future, most notably whether or not to sign star wing Jaylen Brown to a supermax contract extension.

He said that this makes Porzingis’ long-term future in Boston uncertain. However, he added that Porzingis is a player that the Celtics have long been coveting to bolster their frontcourt.

“I think that remains to be seen,” Wojnarowski said of Porzingis' long-term future with the Celtics. “It certainly gives them a dimension, (Jaylen) Brown and (Jayson) Tatum, having him in the middle … just a pick-and-pop dimension, and certainly having a player like him along with Robert Williams, this gives them a tremendous amount of depth on that frontline in Boston."

"This is a team right now in the Celtics that is trying to win multiple championships. They have a window here to do it and acquiring Porzingis was very important to them.”