Celtics face $36m player option with the Wizards to acquiring Kristaps Porzingis in a trade

When it came to obtaining Kristaps Porzingis in a trade with the Wizards last week, the Celtics were under a time crunch. For Boston to have a chance to sign him, he needed to exercise a $36 million player option with the Wizards by midnight on June 22nd. Finally, an indirect looming threat from a familiar face aided the team in reaching an agreement with Washington.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Utah Jazz are “poised” to make a substantial offer to Porzingis if he declines his player option with Washington and becomes an unrestricted free agent.

After the Clippers withdrew out of the agreement on Wednesday owing to worries about Malcolm Brogdon’s health, the Celtics sought a new third team in the Grizzlies to complete the transaction. Boston transferred Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies in exchange for draft picks, while Memphis sent Tyus Jones to Washington in exchange for draft picks, and the Wizards received the No. 35 overall pick from the Celtics in exchange for taking on the contracts of Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala.

It’s questionable exactly how exactly Porzingis would have fit in the Jazz frontcourt alongside a pair of promising bigs in Walker Kessler and Lauri Markkanen but Danny Ainge has shown he’s not shy on buying low on free agent or trade assets during a rebuild. He landed Evan Turner, Isaiah Thomas among others on bargain deals during the Celtics rebuild last decade which led to promising results on the court ahead of schedule. The Jazz have potentially $47 million in cap room to spend this summer so they were a legitimate threat to make Porzingis a big offer if he hit the market.

Instead, their looming presence as a danger may have aided the Celtics in landing the big man who reportedly chose Boston this offseason.

If Porzingis had gone that path, the Celtics would not have been able to sign the former All-Star (a sign-and-trade would not have been possible under the apron/hard cap). However, it was clear that the Wizards were concerned about losing Porzingis in free agency for no compensation, according to Stein. Even after an initial three-team structure broke apart with the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, the franchise remained driven to reach an agreement with Boston.