Why Kristaps Porzingis was thinking about Eagles when he was traded to Hawks

Kristaps Porziņģis was still half-asleep when the Latvian big man's phone began buzzing on the morning he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks . Dozens of texts filled his screen. He quickly realized what they meant. Porzingis's time with the Boston Celtics was over. At home in Latvia, Porzingis opened a group chat expecting confirmation of his next destination. Instead, he saw three bird emojis.

“I was like, ‘Eagles? What is this?’” Porzingis recalled in a recent conversation with The Athletic. “And then I was like, ohhhhh, the Hawks. Interesting.”

Atlanta had emerged from nowhere to land the 7-foot-3 forward in a three-team trade involving Boston and Brooklyn. For Porzingis, who had endured an illness that derailed his postseason, the deal represented a fresh start with a young team