If there’s one thing to be learned from player movement in the NBA, it’s that nothing is official until it’s truly official.

With that in mind, the Celtics, Grizzlies, and Wizards made sure to cross their respective finish lines following the 2023 NBA Draft, as the Celtics finalized and formally announced their acquisition of center Kristaps Porzingis.

“We are very happy to welcome Kristaps to Boston” Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said in a statement confirming the move. “He brings a skill set and ability to impact the game that not only fits the needs of our team, but is elite for his position and size. The ability to play to his strengths with any combination of players is unique.”

• The 7-foot-3 Porzingis will make his move from Washington to Boston after a 2022-23 campaign headlined by a career-high in points per game (23.2 point) and field goal percentage (49.8 percent).

  In addition to the career-highs, the Latvian-born Porzingis shot 38.5 percent from beyond the arc, which was his second-best single season total, trailing only a 39.5 percent mark with the Knicks in 2017-18. Porzingis also averaged 8.4 rebounds per game (his fourth-best single-season average and his fourth season of at least eight boards per game), while his 2.7 assists per game were his second-best single-season average.

  Porzingis was also one of just three players to average at least 20 points, eight rebounds, and one block during the 2022-23 season, with the Lakers’ Anthony Davis and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid the others in that club.

• 

  Kristaps Porzingis of the Washington Wizards is defended by Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks during a game. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

• The Celtics’ excitement over adding a player with this kind of skillset was obvious, with Stevens acknowledging the different looks that Porzingis can bring to the Celtics in 2023-24.

  “You’ve heard me talk about playing big, playing long. Kristaps can play with any combination of our players,” Stevens said in his post-draft press conference. “He can play with Rob [Williams], he can play with Al [Horford], he can play as a stand alone five. He has just gotten better, better, and better. He was already good, but he just took another step. He can play defensively the way we want to, he is a deterrent at the rim, and he’s a super-skilled basketball player. We didn’t post a ton this year, but to be able to throw the ball in the post and just shoot over a switch and do it so efficiently and effectively is a big deal.

  “He brings a lot to our team. You can envision some of the lineups we can put out there size-wise right now… pretty intriguing. And not without dropping any skill at all, which is a good thing.”

  Stevens also noted that the team would like to make this a long-term partnership with Porzingis and hammer out an extension when the time comes.

• 

  LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 03: Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics talks with Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics during the second quarter against the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at the Field House at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex. (Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

• The Celtics had to give to get, however, and Stevens didn’t hold back when it came to the difficulty that came with parting with Marcus Smart in the three-way trade to bring Porzingis to Boston.

  “I think that he will always be appreciated and thought of so fondly here for any number of reasons,” Stevens said of Smart. “Obviously, everybody loved the way that he plays and how hard he plays, but also his work in the community. You know, we’re all really grateful to have Marcus in our life for as long as we’ve had.

  “The greatest legacy that you can leave, is to leave someplace, and it’s better off because you were there. And I think that everybody here feels that way [about Smart].”

  The longest tenured Celtic, Smart departs the organization after nine seasons with the team, and with his 581 games with the Celtics ranking as the 19th-most in franchise history.

• "We're all really grateful to have had Marcus in our life for as long as we have"
  
  An emotional Brad Stevens talks about the difficult decision to trade Marcus Smart pic.twitter.com/ayWzfalK3T

  — Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) June 23, 2023

• In addition to the loss of Smart, the Celtics also parted with forward Danilo Gallinari and center Mike Muscala in the three-way trade, and with both players sent to Washington.

  Signed by the Celtics as a free agent last year, the 34-year-old Gallinari missed the entire 2022-23 season and all of Boston’s 2023 postseason run after suffering a torn ACL in a FIBA World Cup contest last summer, and was moved just days after opting into the second year of his contract with the C’s.

  The 6-foot-11 Muscala, who was brought to Boston by way of a 2023 trade deadline deal with the Thunder, averaged 5.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, and shot 47.2 percent (38.5 percent from deep), while averaging 16 minutes per game over the course of his 20-game run with the Celtics.

• 

  SAITAMA, JAPAN – AUGUST 03: Danilo Gallinari #8 of Team Italy drives to the basket against Timothe Luwawu Kongbo #3 of Team France during the first half of a Men’s Basketball Quarterfinal game on day eleven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Saitama Super Arena on August 03, 2021 in Saitama, Japan. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

• Beyond Porzingis, the Celtics’ return for their three players sent out the door included two first-round picks, both of which came over from the Grizzlies.

  One of those picks, originally slated to be the No. 25 overall pick in Thursday’s 2023 NBA Draft, turned into one 2023 second-round selection and four future second-round picks after a flurry of rapid-fire trades from Stevens. And with what turned out to be their only pick of the night, the C’s grabbed Arkansas wing Jordan Walsh at No. 38 overall.

  A 6-foot-7 grinder known for his defensive tenacity, Walsh tied the program record for most games played by a freshman with 36 appearances in his lone season at Arkansas, and averaged 7.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 24.4 minutes per game. Walsh was ranked the No. 11 prospect by ESPN in the Class of 2022 after being named to the 2022 McDonald’s High School All-American Game and a Jordan Brand Classic participant.

  The other first-round pick sent Boston’s way is a 2024 top-four protected pick via Golden State. If that pick remains with the Celtics between now and next year’s draft, it will mark the first time that Stevens has selected in the first round since taking over as the team’s president of basketball operations in 2021.

  “Obviously the pick we have next year is a valuable pick, and we’ll have a couple options to move those or pick ’em,” Stevens said. “One of these days I’ll pick a first-round pick. Might be a while.”

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