Former Celtics center makes candid admission upon joining new team after trade

Story by

Story by
Former Celtics center makes candid admission upon joining new team after trade

Brian Robb · MassLive

Thu, Feb 19, 2026 ·

3 min read

About Our Ads

Kristaps Porzingis has joined his third team in less than a year after being dealt to the Golden State Warriors at the trade deadline earlier this month. The former Celtics big man is expected to make his Warriors debut two weeks after he was acquired from the Atlanta Hawks for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield .

The big man joins a Warriors team looking to improve for the playoff push despite losing Jimmy Butler to a torn ACL last month. However, Porzingis has not played since Jan. 7 due to various ailments and only appeared in 17 games this year for the Hawks. It’s led to a unique situation, as Porzingis admitted to reporters on Wednesday with the big man reuniting with another ex-teammate, Al Horford .

“Weird. If somebody said that while we were in Boston that this was going to be the scenario, who would believe this?” Porzingis told reporters in San Francisco . “This is how it works out. Obviously, we were expecting Boston to have some changes with the money stuff but it’s going to be weird especially with the first game back against Boston.”

Porzingis also reflected on the past season with an acknowledgment that things did not go according to plan in Atlanta after the Celtics traded him there last July.

“I don’t wanna throw a pity party for myself,” Porzingis said of last season. “It wasn’t perfect. I wasn’t feeling well in the playoffs. Then summer time, I got back and started to feel good. I had a decent EuroBasket. The beginning of this season wasn’t perfect with this and that. I have to roll with the punches and I’ve done it in my career. Now, I feel like I’m in a good spot. It didn’t work out perfectly in Atlanta but I’m in a good place now, in good hands and looking forward to building back up from this point on.”

Porzingis is expected to play with a minutes limit with the Warriors at center as he tries to integrate himself into the lineup without disrupting the team’s chemistry.

“Honestly, without putting crazy pressure and expectations on myself, just building with each game,” Porzingis said. “Heading in the right direction. It’s been an up-and-down season. Not healthy and this and that. Tougher than usual after the good summer that I had from all the perspectives. I’m looking forward now that I’m finally feeling good is to just take it one step at a time, build up with each game, more minutes, more this, more feeling better and see where I end up.”

The Warriors and Porzingis host the Celtics on Thursday night in their first game after the All-Star break.

More Celtics content