After 2 seasons with the Celtics, Kristaps Porziņģis was traded to Atlanta as part of a 3-team deal involving Brooklyn in the offseason.
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ATLANTA — No extension between Kristaps Porziņģis and the Atlanta Hawks is imminent — and it’s possible one won’t occur at all.
“I know that’s an option. I want to see how the year goes,” Porziņģis said in a recent conversation with The Athletic. “I want to show that I’m playing at a high level again, that I’m healthy, that I’m everything, and then that kind of stuff will take care of itself, you know? We’ll see.”
Porziņģis, who the Hawks traded for in July and who turned 30 in August, is eligible to extend his contract this season. If he does not do so, he will become a free agent next summer.
“I don’t want to rush anything and say this or that, but I want to take it one day at a time,” he said.
He is set to earn $30.7 million in 2025-26, meaning an extension could start with a salary as high as $43 million. However, as Porziņģis puts it, he and the Hawks may be best waiting to commit.
Porziņģis averaged 19.5 points and 6.8 rebounds for Boston during 42 regular-season games in 2024-25 but cratered during the playoffs, when he suffered from a mysterious virus that zapped him of his energy. By the time his Celtics made it to the postseason’s second round, he looked little like himself.
After an offseason playing for the Latvian national team at Eurobasket, he says he is back to normal.
“I just didn’t have the engine that I usually have. As soon as I got some rest and got back in shape with the national team, I’m feeling great,” Porziņģis said. “I feel awesome now.”
He has started at center during the preseason, though Hawks coach Quin Snyder has not said explicitly if Porziņģis or the incumbent first-stringer, Onyeka Okongwu, who balled out down the stretch of last season, will be in the first five when the season opens.
Atlanta is in a transitional season after adding three rotation players — Porziņģis, free-agent guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker and sharpshooter Luke Kennard — this summer. The Hawks have reasons to wait on Porziņģis that have nothing to do with him. After all, his contract may be up after this season, but he’s not the only member of the squad whose future is in question.
Reigning Most Improved Player Dyson Daniels is eligible for an extension, too. If he doesn’t sign one by Oct. 21, he will become a restricted free agent next summer. And most prominently, four-time All-Star Trae Young is entering the final guaranteed year of his contract. Young and the Hawks could agree to an extension at any point in 2025-26. If they don’t, the point guard can become an unrestricted free agent in 2026 for the first time in his career.
With questions about 2026 and beyond lurking, the Hawks could justify waiting on Porziņģis just as much as the 7-foot-3 center could want to wait on Atlanta.
The Hawks enter this season with loftier expectations than have met them since their run to the conference finals half a decade ago. The new additions, plus Young, Daniels, a healthy Jalen Johnson, 2024 No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher and a crestfallen Eastern Conference give them a chance to finish above the SoFi Play-In Tournament, possibly far above it, for the first time in four years.
“I was really happy that I could end up in a place like this, playing with these young guys, playing with Trae, who’s one of the best passers in the league,” Porziņģis said. “It’s an exciting situation for me. I’m very, very happy.”
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Fred Katz is a senior NBA writer for The Athletic. Follow Fred on X @FredKatz
