With questions mounting about Atlanta Hawks center Kristaps Porzingisâ availability and Onyeka Okongwu playing the best basketball of his career, league conversations have started drifting toward a familiar possibility: the Latvian center could be on the move again. That backdrop frames Forbes reporter Evan Sideryâs latest update, which notes that several rival executives believe Atlanta will shop PorziÅgisâ $30.7 million expiring contract before Februaryâs trade deadline in search of a win-now piece.
Porzingis missed his fourth game of the season Thursday night, sitting out Atlantaâs matchup with Utah. That already puts him over a quarter of the Hawksâ early-season absences, reintroducing durability questions that followed him out of Boston. He arrived as a low-risk, high-upside acquisition, but the reliability hasnât been there.
PorziÅgis Hasnât Delivered the Expected Stability
Through his first nine appearances, Porzingis is averaging 17.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks in under 26 minutes per game. The efficiencyâ43% shooting and 31.1% from threeâis well below his peak stretch, and his inconsistent availability has limited Atlantaâs ability to build continuity.
His recent history hasnât helped. Porzingis played only 99 of 164 possible games with the Celtics and missed most of Bostonâs 2024 title run due to a calf strain. Later, a case of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) derailed his postseason, dropping his production to 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds on low efficiency.
Boston would have kept him if not for the second-apron constraints. Atlanta leveraged that situation for a cost-cutting move, but early returns show why the price wasnât steep.
The On/Off Numbers Are Impossible to Ignore
The Hawks hoped Porzingis would anchor the interior and stretch the floor for Trae Young. Instead, Atlanta has been 7.4 points per 100 possessions better with him off the court. With PorziÅgis on the floor, the defense ranks in the 8th percentile, opponents shoot 9.2% better at the rim, and the Hawks struggle to clean the glass.
Jalen Johnsonâs defensive dip contributes to the issue, but Porzingis hasnât stabilized the back line in the way the front office envisioned.
There is one positive: the PorzingisâOkongwu defensive pairing has worked. Okongwuâs mobility and physicality complement Porzingisâ length, creating one of Atlantaâs few successful defensive combinations. But when Porzingis shares the floor with Johnson, the interior collapses.
Okongwuâs Breakout Changes Everything
That contrast sharpened on Thursday night. Okongwu started in place of Porzingis and delivered a career performance: 32 points on 11-of-18 shooting, 11 rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and eight made threes. Heâs now attempting a career-high 4.1 threes per game, hitting 1.6 on averageâa major leap for Atlantaâs former energy big.
His development gives the Hawks something far more sustainable: a younger, healthier two-way center whose game is expanding rapidly.
Why Trading KP Makes Sense Now
Porzingis is on an expiring contract and did not enter extension talks this offseason. If Atlanta believes Okongwu can anchor the futureâand if Porzingis isnât the defensive solution they envisionedâthen Sideryâs report reflects an increasingly logical path.
Rival executives see the same trend: Porzingisâ contract may be more valuable to Atlanta as a trade chip than as their starting center. If the Hawks want a true playoff push in Trae Youngâs contract year, flipping his expiring deal could be the move that reshapes their ceiling before the deadline.
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