Kristaps Porzingis breaks silence on trade to Atlanta Hawks, ‘not necessarily one I dreamed of...’

Kristaps Porzingis has been traded four times in his career, and after being dealt to the Atlanta Hawks, hes ready to impact winning next to Trae Young.

For the fourth time in his career, Kristaps Porzingis has been traded.

The Boston Celtics sent him to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Georges Niang and a 2031 second-round draft pick .

To fans, the deal came as no surprise.

In an effort to get under the second apron , Boston traded Porzingis and Jrue Holiday and let Luke Kornet and Al Horford walk in free agency.

In addition to Porzingis, Atlanta added Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard in an effort to maximize Trae Young and breakout candidate Jalen Johnson , and are expected to make some noise in the Eastern Conference.

Porzingis expected Celtics to trade him Much like the fans, Porzingis knew the trade was coming.

At 29 years old and with one year and $30 million left on his contract, he will be looking for a new deal next summer, and he very easily could have been sent to a rebuilding team as a one-year rental.

Instead, he gets to compete on a winning team, which is something he doesnt take for granted .

I expected the trade, so it didnt come as a surprise, he said in Latvian, as translated by HoopsHype .

And I ended up in a place thats actually a good situation for me, not necessarily one I dreamed of, but its a strong fit.

So overall, Im very happy.

Atlanta has made the play-in tournament in each of the last two seasons, but has been unable to punch a ticket to the playoffs.

With added shooting around Young, the Hawks are expected to take a leap and could even land home-court advantage in the first round for the first time since 2016.

While Porzingis relishes playing for a winning teamor at least a team with hopes of winninghe has played for his fair share of rebuilding teams.

Porzingis has enjoyed all of his teams Porzingis did not play for a winning team until his fourth season in the league, and was traded by the Dallas Mavericks to the Washington Wizards two seasons later, missing the playoffs in both seasons in the capital.

The Hawks, like the Wizards, dont exactly have a winning pedigree despite their ambitions.

That doesnt stop Porzingis from being excited about his next chapter.

Honestly, Ive felt good everywhere, he said.

Even in Washington, I was extremely happy, no one paid too much attention to who was playing there.

I could just go out, play, and be happy.

I think people noticed that, me smiling, enjoying the game.

That stuck with them.

Of course, the championship win and all that helped, too.

The Hawks, after adding Porzingis, have the fourth-best odds to win the Eastern Conference, and with the East being more open than ever and Young finally having a secondary scorer down low, the Hawks could easily exceed expectations .

This article first appeared on NBA Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission..

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