{"id":181027,"date":"2025-09-30T22:16:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T22:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/181027\/"},"modified":"2025-09-30T22:16:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T22:16:11","slug":"celtics-linked-to-potential-reunion-with-former-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/181027\/","title":{"rendered":"Celtics Linked to Potential Reunion With Former Star"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2198063180-e1758314118691.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto by Brian Fluharty\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"278\" data-end=\"557\">The <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/boston-celtics\/\" target=\"_new\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-start=\"282\" data-end=\"344\">Boston Celtics<\/a> spent the offseason reshaping their roster and resetting under the second apron. Brad Stevens and new owner Bill Chisholm kept their focus on flexibility, with the front office now positioned to strike in 2026.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"559\" data-end=\"945\">That reset has already sparked speculation about who Boston might chase once the cap sheet clears. In a recent piece, <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.celticsblog.com\/articles\/121784\/the-boston-celtics-have-added-flexibility-bill-chisholm-brad-stevens-second-apron-nba-trades\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\" data-start=\"677\" data-end=\"846\">CelticsBlog\u2019s Jack Anderson<\/a> floated a familiar name: <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/kristaps-porzingis\/\" target=\"_new\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-start=\"872\" data-end=\"942\">Kristaps Porzingis<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Why a Celtics Reunion Could Make Sense<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"991\" data-end=\"1366\">Porzingis\u2019 first stint in Boston ended with frustration. Injuries robbed him of the chance to contribute in the 2024 playoffs, and he was eventually moved in the financial reset. More recently, he revealed that the illness that sidelined him in those playoffs has cleared, though he still does not know exactly what it was, per <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NotoriousOHM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\" data-start=\"1319\" data-end=\"1363\">Ohm Youngmisuk<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1368\" data-end=\"1914\">When healthy, Porzingis fit seamlessly alongside <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/jayson-tatum\/\" target=\"_new\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-start=\"1417\" data-end=\"1475\">Jayson Tatum<\/a> and <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/jaylen-brown\/\" target=\"_new\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-start=\"1480\" data-end=\"1538\">Jaylen Brown<\/a>. He stretched the floor, protected the rim, and gave Boston a unique two-way weapon. At <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/atlanta-hawks\/\" target=\"_new\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-start=\"1627\" data-end=\"1687\">Atlanta Hawks<\/a> Media Day, he reminded reporters of that impact: \u201cI had my best shooting season last year. I look forward to doing that again, if not better.\u201d \u2014 <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/langleyatl\/status\/1972714119305277489\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\" data-start=\"1835\" data-end=\"1911\">via Zach Langley on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1916\" data-end=\"2045\">If his market dips and he becomes available closer to the mid-level exception (around $14 million), a reunion could make sense.<\/p>\n<p>Reality Check for the Celtics<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2082\" data-end=\"2465\">The truth is, the odds are slim. Boston traded Porzingis when his value was low, and he is already showing signs of bouncing back. He averaged <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fiba.basketball\/en\/events\/fiba-eurobasket-2025\/teams\/latvia\/187013-kristaps-porzingis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\" data-start=\"2225\" data-end=\"2354\">20.2 points and 8.7 rebounds<\/a> for Latvia at EuroBasket. He is also entering a contract year, which usually brings out the best in players.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2467\" data-end=\"2593\">Former <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/\" title=\"NBA\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"1719\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NBA<\/a> guard <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/jeff-teague\/\" title=\"Jeff Teague\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"48148\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jeff Teague<\/a> explained it on the <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LegionHoops\/status\/1969817137708773436\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\" data-start=\"2516\" data-end=\"2590\">Club 520 Podcast<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2597\" data-end=\"2899\">\u201cThe <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/atlanta-hawks\/\" title=\"Hawks\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"1720\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Hawks<\/a> are going to make the playoffs, conference finals without a doubt\u2026 Have Porzingis spread, pause. He about to be lining up half-court shooting threes. <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/trae-young\/\" title=\"Trae Young\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"48149\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Trae Young<\/a> going to have all this room to operate\u2026 Porzingis? Bro, he in contract year, you know how this go. He \u2018bout to play 70 games.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2901\" data-end=\"2991\">If that version of Porzingis shows up, his price will likely soar beyond Boston\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Jeff Teague:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Hawks are going to make the playoffs, conference finals without a doubt\u2026 Have Porzingis spread, pause. He about to be lining up half-court shooting threes. Trae Young going to have all this room to operate\u2026 Porzingis? Bro, he in contract year, you know how\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NZ8YVegJcj\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/NZ8YVegJcj<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LegionHoops\/status\/1969817137708773436?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">September 21, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Why Porzingis Could Still Be Open to Boston<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3042\" data-end=\"3337\">One thing Boston has going for it is how much Porzingis enjoyed being a Celtic. He bought into the culture, fit in with the locker room, and spoke often about how much he liked playing for the franchise. Even after being traded, it is not hard to imagine him keeping the door open to a return.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Boston will always be special in my heart.Huge thank you to the organization, coaches, staff, my teammates and the fans! Class organization. Forever grateful. \u2618\ufe0f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/z1KhKocN1I\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/z1KhKocN1I<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Kristaps Porzingis (@kporzee) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kporzee\/status\/1937829559140778048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">June 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<p>What It Means Going Forward<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3372\" data-end=\"3630\">The <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/boston-celtics\/\" title=\"Celtics\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"1721\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Celtics<\/a> did not reset their books just to save money. With Tatum sidelined and second-apron penalties looming, Stevens and the front office made painful choices to preserve long-term flexibility. The plan is to create room for impact additions in 2026.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3632\" data-end=\"3819\">A Porzingis reunion would be a surprise. For it to happen, his market would need to dip considerably. More likely, he shines in a contract year and prices himself out of Boston\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/keithwatkinsnba\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Keith Watkins<\/a> Keith Watkins is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, and Los Angeles Lakers. He previously wrote for FanSided, NBA Analysis Network, and Last Word On Sports. Keith is based in Bangkok, Thailand. <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/keithwatkinsnba\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Keith Watkins<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Celtics\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo by Brian Fluharty\/Getty Images Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics spent the offseason reshaping their roster&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":181028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-181027","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}