Former Boston Celtics Teammates Reunited In Surprising Trade

Brad Stevens was forced to break up his championship core because of the new second apron penalties, but a surprising trade is now reuniting two title-winning teammates.

Dec 5, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Kristaps Porzingis (8) reacts after a basket against the Denver Nuggets in the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

One of the downsides to Boston’s incredible championship run was the need to break up the core of the team because of the new CBA and the second apron rule. 

“We knew going into this year, regardless of how [last season] ended, that we were going to have some really hard decisions to make because of the penalties,” Brad Stevens said in the offseason. “That was part of making the decision to push in and put our chips on the table and go for it the last two years. But we've known for a long time that hard decisions were coming.”

Those hard decisions resulted in Jrue Holiday going to Portland and Kristaps Porzingis going to Atlanta in trades. Al Horford went to Golden State and Luke Kornet to San Antonio because they got more money than Boston could offer. 

And while the Celtics are surprisingly good this season, tied for second in the East after their shocking blowout win over Houston, there's always a little bit of sadness when thinking back at the championship run Boston made with all of those players, and that it had to be broken up so quickly. 

But in a surprising twist before the trade deadline, two of those teammates will be reunited. 

Kristaps Porzingis is going to the Golden State Warriors as part of a deal that sends Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to Atlanta. 

According to ESPN, the Warriors pivoted to a backup plan because they received signals from the Bucks that a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade wouldn’t be completed by the Thursday 3 p.m. deadline. 

The Warriors had grown desperate to move Kuminga after long, growing acrimony built up in the locker room over his role. It was clear that the relationship between Kuminga and head coach Steve Kerr wasn’t salvageable, so there was no turning back on moving him, even after Jimmy Butler was lost for the season to a knee injury. 

It’s an interesting position for Porzingis, who has missed most of the season with an illness and Achilles tendinitis. If he can get healthy again for the Warriors, he’ll get another opportunity to be a major contributor to a team hoping to make a run to the NBA Finals. 

The Celtics missed two opportunities to face off against Porzingis, as he missed both games in January due to the Achilles issue. Porzingis declined to meet with the Boston media in Atlanta and was not present in Boston when the Hawks visited last week. 

Now, the team will get two more chances, the first coming on February 19 in San Francisco, where the Celtics begin their annual post-All-Star West Coast swing. There's another chance for Boston fans to see Porzingis when the Warriors visit Boston on March 18.