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2023 Free Agents - Kristaps Porzingis

Summary
After a promising start to his career and an All-Star appearance in his third season, Porzingis struggled in subsequent seasons. He has suffered with nagging injuries, and after failing to become the Mavs' second star he was traded to Washington in 2022. 

Health has been one of the biggest issues for Porzingis thus far in his career. He missed the entire '18-19 season, and had not played in more than 57 games from '17-'18 to '21-'22, but he played 65 games in '22-'23 and quietly had a really good year. However, the multiple lower body injuries he has sustained are worrying for someone of his size. 

Offensively, Porzingis provides value as a pick-and-pop big, but you'd like him to shoot better from three. He's only a career 36% 3-point shooter, which is still good for a center but not elite enough to be someone that puts real fear into defenses. He does have deep range, and that spacing can really benefit teams. 

Porzingis has enough off-the-dribble pop to attack hard closeouts and get to the rim, but he doesn't really have moves in a way that he could beat a defender off the dribble without a clear starting advantage. He has nice touch on post-ups, and generally finishes well at the rim, but his high center of gravity makes it difficult for him to get good post position and he often settles for tough fadeaways. Because he's not someone you can give the ball to and expect him to make a play, he often gets relegated to just spotting up.

Defensively, Porzingis can provide rim protection with his long reach and solid defensive instincts, but he struggles to defend on the perimeter. If a team goes five-out against him, it could really neutralize his ability to make an impact as a rim protector. 

In the same way that many people see Myles Turner as a great fit on many teams due to his ability to space the floor on offense while providing rim protection on defense, Porzingis could do the same. However, he is seen differently because of his large contract and inability to stay healthy (along with the perimeter defense issues noted above). If Porzingis can stay on the court and hit enough shots, he could be a very impactful player, if not a star like it appeared in his early days with the Knicks.
 
Cap Considerations
Porzingis has a $37.3 million player option for 2023-2024, and if he declines that option he will be an unrestricted free agent with a $40.2 million cap hold and full Bird Rights, meaning the Wizards will have no restrictions on re-signing him. Since the Wizards will most likely be operating over the cap, and since his cap hold is above his likely starting salary, his cap hold is not really relevant.

If Porzingis opts out, he would certainly demand a starting salary of more than the full $12.2 million Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception, which means only teams with cap space will be able to sign him. If Porzingis and an over-the-cap team have mutual interest, sign-and-trade options can be explored.

Potential Teams: Wizards, Bulls, Pacers, Jazz, Trailblazers

Predicted Contract: 3-year, $100 million with the Wizards

Actual Contract: Opt In: $37.3 million
Porzingis ended up opting in as part of his trade to the Celtics

Last updated: 6/22/2023

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