The Boston Celtics have locked their newly-acquired center Kristaps Porzingis to a new extension. The team made an announcement on Wednesday but didn’t disclose any terms of the agreement.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the extension is worth $60 million and will keep Porzingis for an additional two years in Boston. The 27-year-old player previously opted into his player option for 2023-24, which comes with a $36 million salary. This basically means that Porzingis now has a $96 million deal that runs through the 2025-26 season.
Porzingis joined the Celtics this summer in a trade with the Washington Wizards as part of the three-way deal that saw Marcus Smart go to the Memphis Grizzlies. By locking Porzingis to a long-term deal earlier than later, Boston hopes the Latvian big man continues to build on his stellar 2022-23 campaign and be a bargain down the stretch.
Porzingis had one of his best campaigns as a pro last season, averaging a career-high 23.2 points per game. He also added 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game.
Another positive thing for both the Celtics and Porzingis is that he was mostly injury-free. He ended up playing 65 games during the regular season, which is his most since his sophomore season in the league.
