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DeutschWhy Warriors must ace upcoming NBA offseason to salvage Kristaps Porziņģis trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – In the month since the Warriors acquired Kristaps Porziņģis, the initial muted optimism has completely dissipated, the team is clinging to hope of his return, the fan base is descending into apathy, and the rest of the season is a dense fog of futility.
Multiple factors have taken the Warriors to this gloom, beginning with Jimmy Butler III’s season-ending torn ACL, followed by Stephen Curry’s “runner’s knee” affliction, followed by rampant speculation that leaves Draymond Green confused – at the very least.
Porziņģis was to, in theory, offer a modicum of light. At 7-foot-3, he has the length the Warriors haven’t had since the glory days. His shooting would stretch the floor on offense, and his aptitude defense would, in theory, free Green to wreck the sets of opponents.
The 7-foot-3 Latvian would not be a cure but perhaps a tonic for a reeling roster. Maybe Porziņģis could boost the Warriors in ways Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield, the two players Golden State sent to Atlanta in exchange, could not.
The team’s vision was profoundly conditional. Porziņģis has an alarming history of injuries and illnesses, so he comes with an asterisk the size of the sun.
“I don’t think we would’ve made the trade,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said on Feb. 5, “if we didn’t think he could be healthy and consistent in terms of being in the lineup.”
With KP playing only once in nine games, that asterisk only has grown in the 27 days since. No one employed by the Warriors who is authorized to speak about his condition has uttered a single word describing his condition. All we know is that Porziņģis is not available.
“It’s a little mysterious,” Kerr on Monday, two hours before a 114-101 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. “We’re obviously working with him, and he can get some clarity, and he can break through. And he can get to a point where he’s consistently healthy.
“But that’s something that the medical staff is working hard on with him. I’m not going to posit any medical theories anymore.”
This comes after the Warriors declared Porziņģis relatively healthy shortly after the All-Star break, the Warriors wanted nothing more than a seven-week evaluation period. Maybe 15-20 games to decide if re-signing him this summer was an appealing option. Meanwhile, he could assess the organization for his future.
Upon joining the Warriors, Porziņģis worked on his conditioning. Once cleared, he provided 17 encouraging minutes against Boston on Feb. 19.
In the 13 days since, the mystery only has deepened. As the Warriors were arriving at Chase Center to on Feb. 22 face the Denver Nuggets, Porziņģis called in sick. General illness, according to the Warriors. He stayed behind as the team went on a four-day trip, returning on Feb. 26. He practiced the next day at Chase.
“He’s feeling better, and he went through the full practice,” Kerr said last Friday, adding that Porziņģis would be listed as questionable for a game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 28.
One day later, Porzingis was declared out. Illness. Again. He also was out Monday against the Clippers.
To recap, KP went from being too sick to play in a game to recovering well enough to fully practice to again being too sick to play – all in a span of six days.
“It’s a complicated illness,” Kerr said Tuesday on the “Tom Tolbert Show.”
When the Warriors acquired Porziņģis last month, the move was met with mixed reaction within the cool corridors of Dub Nation. There were multiple factors that would determine the value of the deal, the first being whether he could stay healthy enough for fair judgment.
Each game KP misses reveals the answer. The Warriors took a risk in trading for him. Re-signing him, barring a miracle recovery, would be a fool’s errand.
The second factor is the one thing the Warriors have for certain: Porziņģis’ expiring contract. It’s worth $30.7 million, which gives them considerable cap flexibility in the immediate future.
On the surface, the trade was a calculated risk with little likelihood of outright disaster. If KP is healthy and there is a mutual desire to come back next season, it’s a win for both sides. If he’s ailing, who knows where KP lands – but his expiring contract will be beneficial to the Warriors.
Either way, the franchise will have salvaged something for moving Kuminga and Hield.
With the most realistic outlook being that the Warriors reach the first round of the playoffs and win a game or two, the door to success as they measure it is closed.
The only way to salvage this trade is if that expiring deal helps the Warriors ace their work in the offseason and create a path to recovery in 2026-27.