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The Atlanta Hawks have made a slew of high-profile acquisitions this offseason, including signing Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard as well as trading for Kristaps Porzingis at the Boston Celtics' recent firesale. The Hawks are looking to take advantage of an East landscape that figures to be wide open considering the current injuries to star players in the conference.
Recently, Porzingis spoke with Lauren Williams of the AJC about how things fizzled out for him in Boston.
“Our season (with the Celtics) didn’t end last year the way we wanted to,” Porzingis said. “But this is how it goes, you know. And obviously, we expected that there were going to be changes in my whole team. And having a little bit longer summer than usual is, it’s awesome always as a player, because it’s just, the NBA season is tough, and also (I) jumped in the middle of the season, and it’s obviously tough.”
Porzingis also spoke on how excited he is for this new opportunity back in the Southeast Division with Atlanta.
“Just having this time off and being able to recharge a bit and get ready for a big summer, and then going into next year, it’s, honestly, it’s the perfect scenario, the perfect scenario. And I’m super, super excited about what’s coming,” said Porzingis.
A big addition for the Hawks
In Porzingis, Hawks star point guard Trae Young now has the first true pick and pop threat of his career at the center position. Of course, health is always a concern with the Latvian big man, who was essentially benched by the Celtics during their recent playoff run as he was severely hampered by a mysterious illness.
However, when healthy, Porzingis is one of the most talented big men in the NBA offensively and also provides reliable rim protection at the other end of the floor.
The fact that the Hawks were able to get Porzingis for a relatively low price and on an expiring contract makes the move a low-risk, high-reward decision for a franchise that suddenly looks to have removed itself from the depths of NBA purgatory.
