Kristaps Porzingis is making his position in Atlanta. The veteran big man, who won the 2024 NBA championship with the Boston Celtics, became one of the first significant moves of the Atlanta Hawks’ aggressive offseason.

Kristaps Porzingis knew a trade from the Celtics was possible this offseason. However, the big man did not suspect a move to the Hawks. The former Celtics big man spoke to Latvia’s Sports Studja in an interview this week in his first public comments after Boston traded him away as part of a three-team deal to the Atlanta Hawks for Georges Niang.

It was not a surprise even before, but the Celtics trading Porzingis especially seemed even more inevitable given the end of his season. The Latvian native dealt with an illness for much of the second half of the season, and it greatly impacted him in the playoffs.