Kristaps Porzingis was a key member of the Boston Celtics roster that won a championship in 2024. His perimeter shooting, post-up scoring and rim-deterrence were all huge factors in Joe Mazzulla’s roster becoming so dominant. However, with the Celtics facing up to the realities of the second luxury-tax apron, Porzingis was sent packing earlier this summer. He landed with the Atlanta Hawks, where he will now team up with Trae Young. During a Tuesday interview with BasketNews ahead of the upcoming EuroBasket tournament, Porzingis admitted that he didn’t expect to be moved to the Hawks. Instead, the championship-winning big man was expecting to land with the San Antonio Spurs, where he would have partnered with Victor Wembanyama. “After the season, I spoke to my agent and kind of expected that one or more of us would be traded,” Porzingis said. “For a while, I thought I might end up with the Spurs, but then Atlanta came in—and that was a nice surprise. It was out of my hands.” While moving to the Spurs would h
