The Atlanta Hawks front office was aggressive in adding talent to the roster this summer — Kristaps Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Luke Kennard — but was cautious in offering Trae Young a contract extension. Atlanta pushed its chips into the middle with this group, it wants to see how things look before deciding whether to continue down this road or turn the car around and make a dramatic change.
That applies to Porzingis as well, and he sees it the same way. Porzingis is extension eligible, but told Fred Katz of The Athletic there is no push to get a deal done now.
“I know that’s an option. I wanna see how the year goes,” Porziņģis said … “I wanna 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 …
“I don’t wanna rush anything and say this or that, but I wanna take it one day at a time,” he said.
Porzingis is set to make $30.7 million this season in the final year of a two-year, $60 million contract he signed in Boston. This summer, as it looked to cut salary, the Celtics traded Porzingis to the Hawks in a three-team deal with Brooklyn.
On paper, Porzingis is exactly the kind of big man Atlanta needed — an impressive rim protector on the defensive end who is a pick-and-pop threat with Young. Last season, Porzingis averaged 19.5 points and 6.8 rebounds a game, shooting 41.2% from 3-point range. He looked good playing for his native Latvia this summer at EuroBasket as well. However, he played in just 42 games last season (due in part to a mysterious virus) and has played in 65 games just once in the previous seven seasons. He needs to show he can stay on the court, availability will have a lot to do with how much his next contract is worth.
A contract extension with the Hawks could start as high as $43 million a season, although a number closer to where Porzingis is now — in the $30-35 million range a season — seems more likely if he can stay on the court.
If the Hawks live up to the hopes and expectations of fans and the front office this season — top four seed, advancing out of the first round of the playoffs at least — then Porzingis, Young and others are going to get paid this summer and Atlanta is going to continue down the road. If the wheels come off, well, things are going to get hot in Atlanta next summer.
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