PORZINGIS GETS TRADED, THE SAME GOES FOR POOLE AND MCCOLLUM

NBA.COM

Just days after flipping Jrue Holiday for Anfernee Simons, the Boston Celtics struck again—sending Kristaps Porzingis and a second-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team deal that also involved the Brooklyn Nets.

In return, Boston received Georges Niang and another second-rounder. While the dust was still settling, another significant trade flew slightly under the radar: Washington and New Orleans completed a deal that shipped Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey, and a second-rounder to the Big Easy in exchange for CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk, and the 40th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

The Wizards now find themselves home to two "Scottie Pippens"—CJ McCollum, longtime Robin to Dame Lillard in Portland, and Khris Middleton, Giannis’ trusted co-star in Milwaukee. It’s an odd roster mix in Washington: a logjam of veteran guards like McCollum, Malcolm Brogdon, and Marcus Smart competing for minutes with young upstarts like Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, and Bub Carrington. And with that, the Jordan Poole experiment quietly ends. After peaking with Golden State, he never found his groove in D.C. At least now, he gets a clean slate.

For Atlanta, Kristaps Porzingis could be a swing-for-the-fences move—or a massive bust. The oft-injured “unicorn” hasn’t had a healthy, high-impact season since his Dallas days. Meanwhile, Boston’s decision to bring in Niang—a serviceable but unremarkable part-time starter—raises questions. The Celtics have now gutted parts of their starting lineup and frontcourt. But knowing Boston, they might have another move coming to shore things up. They’re clearly threading the needle between reloading and rebuilding.

What’s truly eye-catching, though, is what Brooklyn got out of all this. The Nets now own five first-round picks in the 2025 NBA Draft: 8, 19, 22, 26, and 27. After being burned twice by chasing All-Stars, Brooklyn is now channeling its inner Oklahoma City—stockpiling assets and betting on the long game.

It also signals something bigger: the era of the superteam may finally be on pause. But it comes at a cost. Sky-high contracts—like the ones signed by Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum—are now being labeled “bad deals” simply because of their size. Which brings us back to Boston: Brown needs to prove he’s worth the max, while Tatum must bounce back strong from injury. If not, this core could be torn apart.

That’s likely why Holiday and Porzingis were moved. With Tatum’s return timeline uncertain, the last thing Boston wants is Brown pushing too hard and spiraling.

Expect more trades to shake up the league before preseason tips off—it’s wild that all this is happening weeks before the first warm-up game even starts.