Conversation on Porzingis

[ozgod]

Joe just said that KP couldn?t really breathe tonight so he decided to sit him in the second half? He said if he was absolutely necessary to put him in he would?ve but he was trying to avoid it

[goCeltics]

It looks like he is cooked, just bench him the rest of the way

[Phantom255x]

Huh? That's not good:

https://x.com/UnderdogNBA/status/1922837052099301680

Mazzulla: Kristaps Porzingis had difficulty breathing Wednesday.

He was available for the second half ?if absolutely necessary.?

[radiohead]

I feel for the guy. I?m sure he wants to go out there and battle it out with his bros. And he knows that the team needs him now more than ever that JT?s out. Hoping for a minor miracle that he just wakes up and feels a lot better come game 6.

[KG Living Legend]

Let's get Zinger tested for Lymes disease

A friend thought he might have long Covid. Anyone know if he ever got Covid? At this point most of us have probably caught it at least once since it's endemic.

My money is on the new disease, Pulmonary Porzingitis.

 It's actually  much more serious.  It's rumored to be Tinguspingusitus.

[SHAQATTACK]

Sorta sounds like mono.

[ozgod]

The Athletic is reporting that what KP suffered during the playoffs was post-viral syndrome. The full report is behind a paywall but I have a subscription and here are some snippets of it:

The Boston Celtics missed a large piece of their offensive puzzle for much of the Eastern Conference semifinals, as big man Kristaps Porziņģis was severely limited while dealing with post-viral syndrome. If that sounds vague, it?s because the ailment is somewhat of a nebulous medical diagnosis.

Porziņģis missed eight games from late February to early March due to an upper respiratory illness. Days after the Celtics? season-ending loss to the New York Knicks, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said the lingering effects of Porziņģis? virus hindered him in the postseason.

Here?s a closer look at the causes and effects of the health condition that kept the Latvian star from playing at his usual level:

What is post-viral syndrome?
Post-viral syndrome (PVS) is a chronic health issue that occurs after a person has recovered from a viral infection. Symptoms include persistent fatigue, muscle aches, joint pain, headaches, brain fog, shortness of breath and difficulty sleeping, per the Virginia Department of Health. Long COVID is a recent example of PVS.

Essentially, PVS will make you feel drained and weak after your immune system fights off a viral illness. It can last for days or months, and even people at peak health can struggle to shake the nagging symptoms. Porziņģis, 29, said in March that he laid at home for a week trying to recover following his initial bout of illness.

?And then after that, I still had lingering fatigue,? he said on March 15. ?And, I still have it a little bit, but at least now, I?m getting into, more or less, shape to be able to play. But yeah, after each workout, I was ? boom, big crash. So, I was really, really fatigued. Not normal. It was extremely, extremely frustrating not knowing what I had. I haven?t been this sick, probably ever, in my life.?

What causes PVS?
Typical triggers include the common cold, the flu, COVID-19, pneumonia and Epstein-Barr, which is the primary cause of mononucleosis.

While the Celtics didn?t share details surrounding Porziņģis? respiratory illness, they did confirm it was not COVID-19.

Recovering from PVS
There isn?t a specific cure for PVS, but medical professionals typically recommend rest, maintaining a balanced diet, low-impact exercise and increased fluid intake, per British healthcare organization North Bristol NHS Trust.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6370823/2025/05/21/kristaps-porzingis-illness-post-viral-syndrome-playoffs/

[Vermont Green]

Sounds like they don't really know what is going on with this type of illness, but they have a name for it.  As described, it is not hard to believe that this is exactly what Porzingis was dealing with.  I just hope that this thing runs its course and he can be done with it for next season.

People are extra down on Porzingis and his durability/reliability as a result of this, which is understandable.  I think he is still a key piece moving forward.  I don't want to trade him and I think he will likely be one of the core moving forward, 2026-27 and beyond.  Sure, you have to manage his minutes, he isn't going to give you more than 55-60 or so games in a season but we need him.  He is only 29, he will be 30 by the start of 2025-26 season.

Last season, he only played 42 games and never looked quite right, but managed nearly 20 pts / 7 rebs / 1.5 blocks on 41.2% 3P%.  This is what he did in a bad season where he was never quite right.  He is under contract next season for about $30.7M.  I am not sure how it works but I would try to extend him if he is willing to take another team friendly deal, see if we can keep him at about $30M, about what White will be getting. 

Tatum, Brown, White, and Porzingis are the core moving forward for say 5 seasons.  Throw in Pritchard, all currently 27-30 years old.  All should be able to contribute a good 5 seasons at least.  That would be about $184M for those 5.  I don't know what the 2nd apron will be in 2026-27, but we should be able to stay under it with this core.

[Phantom255x]

We may just have to keep Porzingis and trade Jrue + Hauser away. It doesn't seem like the interest is there and plus the fact that he's still dealing with PVS is also noteworthy. Hope he gets better but even teams who may have had a use for him have to be hesitating with his current illness. And I don't blame them. We saw how ineffective he was in the postseason

[jambr380]

Sounds like they don't really know what is going on with this type of illness, but they have a name for it.  As described, it is not hard to believe that this is exactly what Porzingis was dealing with.  I just hope that this thing runs its course and he can be done with it for next season.

People are extra down on Porzingis and his durability/reliability as a result of this, which is understandable.  I think he is still a key piece moving forward.  I don't want to trade him and I think he will likely be one of the core moving forward, 2026-27 and beyond.  Sure, you have to manage his minutes, he isn't going to give you more than 55-60 or so games in a season but we need him.  He is only 29, he will be 30 by the start of 2025-26 season.

Last season, he only played 42 games and never looked quite right, but managed nearly 20 pts / 7 rebs / 1.5 blocks on 41.2% 3P%.  This is what he did in a bad season where he was never quite right.  He is under contract next season for about $30.7M.  I am not sure how it works but I would try to extend him if he is willing to take another team friendly deal, see if we can keep him at about $30M, about what White will be getting. 

Tatum, Brown, White, and Porzingis are the core moving forward for say 5 seasons.  Throw in Pritchard, all currently 27-30 years old.  All should be able to contribute a good 5 seasons at least.  That would be about $184M for those 5.  I don't know what the 2nd apron will be in 2026-27, but we should be able to stay under it with this core.

You definitely can't extend him for $30M/yr. Frankly, you shouldn't extend him for more than $20M/yr. While he is still a very valuable player when he plays, at this point, KP has proven he is a health disaster.

I know Brad loves to extend guys, but I'd let this one play out and see what the market is for him after his contract ends. Is anybody really going to give a 31 year old 7'3" Porzingis $30M/yr? Is anybody going to give him more than the full non-taxpayers MLE? If there is absolutely no market for him right now, I doubt that there is going to be next year. It's not like a one off thing with him.

But that might not matter. Right now, the easiest and most direct way for us to get below the 2nd apron without giving up any assets is trading Hauser into cap space/TPE/MLE and waiving and stretching KP. I don't love this idea, but doing that with KP saves us $20M this year. I know we are going to try with Jrue, but we might not be able to cut enough salary to get there.

[Neurotic Guy]

Sounds like they don't really know what is going on with this type of illness, but they have a name for it.  As described, it is not hard to believe that this is exactly what Porzingis was dealing with.  I just hope that this thing runs its course and he can be done with it for next season.

People are extra down on Porzingis and his durability/reliability as a result of this, which is understandable.  I think he is still a key piece moving forward.  I don't want to trade him and I think he will likely be one of the core moving forward, 2026-27 and beyond.  Sure, you have to manage his minutes, he isn't going to give you more than 55-60 or so games in a season but we need him.  He is only 29, he will be 30 by the start of 2025-26 season.

Last season, he only played 42 games and never looked quite right, but managed nearly 20 pts / 7 rebs / 1.5 blocks on 41.2% 3P%.  This is what he did in a bad season where he was never quite right.  He is under contract next season for about $30.7M.  I am not sure how it works but I would try to extend him if he is willing to take another team friendly deal, see if we can keep him at about $30M, about what White will be getting. 

Tatum, Brown, White, and Porzingis are the core moving forward for say 5 seasons.  Throw in Pritchard, all currently 27-30 years old.  All should be able to contribute a good 5 seasons at least.  That would be about $184M for those 5.  I don't know what the 2nd apron will be in 2026-27, but we should be able to stay under it with this core.

You definitely can't extend him for $30M/yr. Frankly, you shouldn't extend him for more than $20M/yr. While he is still a very valuable player when he plays, at this point, KP has proven he is a health disaster.

I know Brad loves to extend guys, but I'd let this one play out and see what the market is for him after his contract ends. Is anybody really going to give a 31 year old 7'3" Porzingis $30M/yr? Is anybody going to give him more than the full non-taxpayers MLE? If there is absolutely no market for him right now, I doubt that there is going to be next year. It's not like a one off thing with him.

But that might not matter. Right now, the easiest and most direct way for us to get below the 2nd apron without giving up any assets is trading Hauser into cap space/TPE/MLE and waiving and stretching KP. I don't love this idea, but doing that with KP saves us $20M this year. I know we are going to try with Jrue, but we might not be able to cut enough salary to get there.

Just a general TP to you for your cap knowledge. You and a few others help the confused among us a ton.

[jambr380]

Sounds like they don't really know what is going on with this type of illness, but they have a name for it.  As described, it is not hard to believe that this is exactly what Porzingis was dealing with.  I just hope that this thing runs its course and he can be done with it for next season.

People are extra down on Porzingis and his durability/reliability as a result of this, which is understandable.  I think he is still a key piece moving forward.  I don't want to trade him and I think he will likely be one of the core moving forward, 2026-27 and beyond.  Sure, you have to manage his minutes, he isn't going to give you more than 55-60 or so games in a season but we need him.  He is only 29, he will be 30 by the start of 2025-26 season.

Last season, he only played 42 games and never looked quite right, but managed nearly 20 pts / 7 rebs / 1.5 blocks on 41.2% 3P%.  This is what he did in a bad season where he was never quite right.  He is under contract next season for about $30.7M.  I am not sure how it works but I would try to extend him if he is willing to take another team friendly deal, see if we can keep him at about $30M, about what White will be getting. 

Tatum, Brown, White, and Porzingis are the core moving forward for say 5 seasons.  Throw in Pritchard, all currently 27-30 years old.  All should be able to contribute a good 5 seasons at least.  That would be about $184M for those 5.  I don't know what the 2nd apron will be in 2026-27, but we should be able to stay under it with this core.

You definitely can't extend him for $30M/yr. Frankly, you shouldn't extend him for more than $20M/yr. While he is still a very valuable player when he plays, at this point, KP has proven he is a health disaster.

I know Brad loves to extend guys, but I'd let this one play out and see what the market is for him after his contract ends. Is anybody really going to give a 31 year old 7'3" Porzingis $30M/yr? Is anybody going to give him more than the full non-taxpayers MLE? If there is absolutely no market for him right now, I doubt that there is going to be next year. It's not like a one off thing with him.

But that might not matter. Right now, the easiest and most direct way for us to get below the 2nd apron without giving up any assets is trading Hauser into cap space/TPE/MLE and waiving and stretching KP. I don't love this idea, but doing that with KP saves us $20M this year. I know we are going to try with Jrue, but we might not be able to cut enough salary to get there.

Just a general TP to you for your cap knowledge. You and a few others help the confused among us a ton.

Thanks NG and right back at ya. There are people here who are more knowledgeable than I am, but I do try to stay up with some of the complexities of the CBA. It's been a few years since we've really had to delve deep into some of the issues. This 2nd apron stuff is absurd.

I'm happy to let you fight my battles in the political threads. I just don't have the energy anymore. You seem like a really cool and thoughtful guy

[Birdman]

Like porzingis but u just can not trust him because of his injury history?last 2 playoffs he has miss most of it cause of the leg/ankle then he was sick this time

[kraidstar]

We may just have to keep Porzingis and trade Jrue + Hauser away. It doesn't seem like the interest is there and plus the fact that he's still dealing with PVS is also noteworthy. Hope he gets better but even teams who may have had a use for him have to be hesitating with his current illness. And I don't blame them. We saw how ineffective he was in the postseason

 The question arises as to whether its preferable to pay someone to take on Porzingis's contract or just let him expire.

 If he stays and plays well, that gives us maybe an outside chance at doing something in the playoffs.  The downside of course to him playing well is that we get a worse draft pick.  If he stays we also have his contract to trade in case a cheaper good player becomes available.

There are a lot of factors to consider here.

[jambr380]

We may just have to keep Porzingis and trade Jrue + Hauser away. It doesn't seem like the interest is there and plus the fact that he's still dealing with PVS is also noteworthy. Hope he gets better but even teams who may have had a use for him have to be hesitating with his current illness. And I don't blame them. We saw how ineffective he was in the postseason

 The question arises as to whether its preferable to pay someone to take on Porzingis's contract or just let him expire.

 If he stays and plays well, that gives us maybe an outside chance at doing something in the playoffs.  The downside of course to him playing well is that we get a worse draft pick.  If he stays we also have his contract to trade in case a cheaper good player becomes available.

There are a lot of factors to consider here.

He's absolutely a goner if ownership wants to get under the tax in what is now being considered a non-competitive year. If they are fine operating in the tax (but not above the 2nd apron) for as long as we are a high end team, then the idea of keeping him makes sense. He's not that old, he's expiring, he loves Boston, he plays a position of need, he is an All-Star when healthy, and he should be considerably cheaper on his next contract.

His value is also rock bottom right now, but that could easily shift with a good couple month stretch this next year. We could actually acquire useful assets in the right deal at the deadline.