5 hours ago 1

Hawks Star's Honest Thoughts About the Kristaps Porzingis Trade

Jul 17, 2025 11:16 PM EDT

After the NBA Finals, the Atlanta Hawks didn’t waste time and made a move to improve their roster. The Hawks had a three-team trade with the Brooklyn Nets that allowed them to acquire star center Kristaps Porzingis. Atlanta traded Terance Mann and the No. 22 pick of the 2025 NBA draft to the Nets. They also shipped Georges Niang to the Boston Celtics.

The Hawks understood Clint Capela would continue his career outside of Atlanta; thus, it was an improvement. With Porzingis, the team has a new starting center who can score from anywhere on the floor. The former All-Star’s 7-foot-6 wingspan makes him an excellent rim protector.

He forms a dynamic duo with Hawks star Trae Young. Also, he brings championship basketball to the team that can help the young core of Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher.

On Thursday, Young released a new episode of his podcast, “From The Point.” During the episode, the four-time All-Star revealed his honest thoughts on teaming up with a championship-caliber big man in Porzingis.

“Kristaps brings a lot to our team,” Young said. “If he’s healthy for our team, the sky’s the limit. Just what he brings to our team. The ability to stretch the floor. I think, now, I’ll be able to get to the basket even easier.

“With the bigs not being able to sit in the middle of the paint. You have to guard Kristaps now at the three-point line. He’s a threat from the half court up… I’m looking forward to playing with him. I know we’re gonna both make our lives a lot easier.”

For a star like Young, having the defense pay attention to the outside shooters gives him more room to operate inside. While he’s not the most athletic player when it comes to scoring, he can find his way as he drives inside the lane.

Porzingis also gives the one-time All-NBA another option on offense to rely on. He’s a skilled scorer who can share the rock with almost anyone. In his two seasons with the Celtics, he had to share the ball with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, two ball-dominant stars. Even with that, the Latvian center was still able to put up 19.8 points on 50.2% from the field and 39.2% from deep.

With Young’s mentality to consistently share the basketball, it will be an interesting dynamic to see him share the floor with Porzingis.