Kristaps Porzingis is uncertain of his next step as he heads toward unrestricted free agency after the Warriors‘ season ended Friday with a play-in loss at Phoenix, writes Melissa Rohlin of The California Post.
The health problems that have followed Porzingis through most of his career continued after he was traded to Golden State in February. A lingering battle with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) contributed to him playing just 15 of a possible 31 regular season games after joining the Warriors. It’s also causing him to reflect on the current state of his career before making any decisions about his future.
“That’s a good question,” Porzingis responded when Rohlin asked if he wants to re-sign with Golden State. “I do love my time here, honestly. Not one bad thing I can say about the organization, the team, the teammates. I really love it here, I really do. As I said before, I haven’t had a good year. If I had a good year, I think I’d have a more clear picture of what I want to do. Because I’ve had an up-and-down year like this, this is an offseason in my career that I think I’m just going to take a step back, look at the whole picture and then see what’s the best direction for me.”
Porzingis averaged 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game with the Warriors and showed occasional flashes of brilliance despite the health issues. One of them came during Wednesday’s play-in victory over the Clippers when he contributed 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in 28 minutes and looked like a natural fit alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
“[Wednesday] honestly was a big step forward for me,” Porzingis said. “To have a game like this, it means a lot. To pull it out of somewhere, and it was there. Definitely a big step in the right direction.”
Rohlin notes that if Porzingis wants to remain with Golden State, he’ll likely have to accept a large reduction in salary. He made $30.7MM this season in the final year of an extension he got from Boston, but the Warriors are unlikely to offer him nearly that much on an annual basis. They’re also facing other roster decisions such as a potential extension for Curry and the possible trade of Green or Jimmy Butler in pursuit of a superstar.
Even with Porzingis’ frequent absences, Rohlin states that the team likes the way he fit in over the past two months and will have interest in keeping him if the money can be worked out.
“Kristaps was fantastic,” coach Steve Kerr said after Friday’s loss, which saw Porzingis struggle with ankle soreness. “He changed our team. The dynamic of having that floor spacing and shot-blocking.”
Bring him back to the Celtics. The fans love him and he loved playing in Boston. He was a salary cap casualty this year. I’m hoping there’s some mutual interest between him and GM Brad Stevens if the price is right. He wouldn’t start with Queda now firmly planted at center but less minutes is what he needs at this point in his career.
I could see that happening, but do the Celtics have that kind of financial room and are they willing to use it on this guy? His lack of availability is a major drawback.
If (big if) KP got healthy than he should be able to get back in the starting lineup either over Queta or with Queta
I’d want queta starting tbh
Queta can operate down past the free throw line and around the basket better than most centers. Get him the ball and he can score with a boatload of moves. Celts really found a gem in Neemi. And by the way, Garza can maneuver down low too and hits threes. Stevens found us two gems!
Queta would start over KP. He’s a better defender.
Hell no.
The Warriors are going to offer a pretty small dollar amount and maybe only two years.
Porziņģis knows it, the Warriors know it, his agent knows it, and the league knows it.
Some team will come in at probably double what the Dubs will commit to for two years and that’s what he’ll wind up taking.
Sure he enjoyed his time here but an NBA job in almost any city is worth moving to for double the salary.
More likely to accept a prove-it deal, one year with a player option for the second year. No one will offer big dollars with the uncertainty of his health condition(s).
A prove-it deal would have a team option the second year, wouldn’t it?
Hopefully Porzingis can stay healthy. He’s a helluva player when he’s actually healthy and available.
@Gary,
Of course he will test the market, as he should. It remains to be seen if there actually will be better offers out there.
@NBAisOK , what do you think the Duns will offer him?
With so little cap space and so many other injury-prone players on our roster, it seems unlikely to the highest.
We’re gonna need healthy bodies next season, or we’ll be out of the running by January.
Like you said lol. Why pay a guy you can’t count on. When there are other question marks. KP will look for biggest deal. This could be his last one. I would sign Vucevic. He’s more dependable and avg 18. Warriors can sign two guys for KP money.
Warriors fans don’t value Jimmy enough. He is the guy you are missing most.
> Warriors fans don’t value Jimmy enough. He
> is the guy you are missing most.
I’ve yet to hear a Dubs fan who thinks Jimmy wasnt the 2nd most valuable player on the team after Steph. No other player came close.
But Jimmy is out of the picture…he’s been injured for the last 3 months and he’s not projected to return until mid-Feb, with 25 games remaining…and he’ll be 37 yrs old…and no NBA player has ever returned from ACL surgery after 34 years old…adding even more uncertainty.
Finally, GSW fans know there’s a good chance Jimmy’s contract is traded before he plays his next game.
.
Yeah but he’s always the one they want to move. Like you just did. So what is it. I get he’s got the contract. But you will never get equal value back. It’s best to play out the last yr and see what happens. Like I said. KP can’t be counted on. I let him walk. Imo Vucevic would consider the Warriors. Cause of their team offense. I would also try and sign Simons. He is a great fit tor the offense. And a very good shooter. Right now you wish you had Raynaud. He cost nothing and can hold it down for a few yrs. Warriors have to be smart with their cap. This is truly a last run. You hit on pick. Then you add some real value. Not just talent. But also numbers, depth. It’s why I say Lendeborg. 23 yr old rookie who can help from day one. Again KP is just not a wise decision.
KP shot 31% 3pt this yr in 32 gms. Career 36%
Vucevic — 34% 3pt this yr in 64 gms. Career 35%
Simons — 32% 3pt this yr. Career 38%, 88% FT,
3.1 ast. And a good ball handler.
> Yeah but he’s always the one they want to move.
> Like you just did. So what is it
Because he’s injured abd can’t contribute.
Is it that hard to understand that they.want to get something in return for a $60M contract?
Nothing is hard to understand. Except you still speaking with forked tongue. .
Either you value Jimmy or you don’t. Is that hard to answer.
Valuing Jimmy is not about his contract in a trade. And they haven’t talked about moving anybody. Have the smarts to show who you can get or who you want.
So again — you just proved my point. Do YOU understand that.
I said Warriors fan don’t value Jimmy enough.
Not even enough to say who you would want back.
This is ball we talking here. You shouldn’t talk if you don’t understand balling.
Nobody has said they don’t want Jimmy back. He’s the second best player on the team.
The doctors say he won’t be back until there are 25 games left next season. That’s the best case.
That’s the facts.
Moving the goal posts on Jimmy doesn’t say anything.
What part of value a players game don’t you understand. Most of you were like this before the trade too.
You have just proven my point AGAIN. Man up lol.
Either you believe in Jimmy or you don’t. It’s simple.
I said let the year play out. I believe in Jimmy.
Obviously most Warriors fans don’t, like you. If you are talking trades, contract, medicals.
First off the FACTS are Warriors haven’t talked about moving anybody. Kerr doesn’t even have a contract.
Who is taking Jimmy ????
We know you don’t believe in Jimmy. That’s the only facts here. I get you see a big contract. Well how do you move it. And without a coach. Jimmy is signed for a year. He isn’t a priority yet. Coach and draft are in that order. I believe in Jimmy. He is one of best conditioned athletes ever. Thats why I say let the yr play out. You will never get value back for Jimmy while he is out. And all Warriors moves now must work. Otherwise you are just closing the window faster. Injuries and passing on Raynaud already blew one yr. Warriors can’t blow another year. You’d think Warriors fans would understand that.
His health issue may not go away, though. And if that’s the expectation, he isn’t going to get much so I think the Warriors could very much be in play.
Wonder if he’ll factor in team medical staffs, try to talk to people and figure out which group might give him the best chance at managing his condition.
If his health is a still a big issue then they shouldn’t touch him.
It hurts the team in so many ways when nobody knows if a guy can play. We’ve seen what happens when you use 60 lineups a year. Everybody complains.
Also W’s fans are so fed up with hearing about injured players.
It could keep his price down, though. And if the Warriors are serious about winning another championship, they will need to chase upside. Butler coming back (or being used to get another big name) is nice, but they will need more. With a very short window they don’t have the luxury of letting the perfect be the enemy of the better than nothing.
But, yeah, if money’s very tight or those $ could be put to better use obviously he can be passed on. I doubt he will be a priority. More of a “break box in case there’s nothing left or we still have a need for a big” type of deal once the dust settles. And, again, assuming no other team will offer him much.
> if the Warriors are serious about winning another
> championship, they will need to chase upside
That’s true, but the appetite for “chasing upside” may not be as great as folks here at this point.
It was a calculated risk, just as was signing 35 yr old Jimmy Butler, who had averaged 55 games/yr while in Miami and with a major knee injury two years earlier. It looked like a great move until he went down with an injury that destroyed 2025-26 and, likely, 2026-27 as well.
As in, “no mas”.
GSW may value Porzingis more than any other team, but another factor that may weigh more:
GSW already had, by far, the oldest and most injured core in the NBA. Do they really want to add the NBA poster-child for unavailability to the mix?
DKNP has averaged 44 games per season the last 10 seasons. He hasn’t disappointed in his brief tenure in The Bay, in which time he discredited even Rick Celebrini, whose declaration of DKNP’s fitness upon examination in Atlanta was a requirement for the Kuminga trade.
True to form, DKNP missed 13 of his 28 regular season Warriors games, with no less than 7 (“seven”) medical conditions listed in the 11 reports submitted to the league in that time. He also left the 2nd play-in game due to injury.
Oh my gawd, a free agent to be is not sure where he’ll play next season…Profound…Insightful…ChatGPT could have written this. They all say that. They are trying to find leverage. He doesn’t have much.
Ari’s post is a bunch of BS. Porzingis never discredited Celebrini. He praised him. Celebrini never to Atlanta to examine Porzingis. Celebrini wasn’t even in the country. This is well known.
I recall him praising the warriors training staff with how well they have worked with him on his health condition.
Im guessing what Ari meant by discredited Celebrini is that Celebrini made an incorrect evaluation of Porzingis in Atlanta.
W’s did the Kuminga trade only because Rick Celebrini examined Porzingis in Atlanta and said that Porzingis was healthy. Kerr and Dunleavey said that.
Porzingis wasn’t healthy. Celebrini was wrong. Porzingis will never be healthy.
“W’s did the Kuminga trade only because Rick Celebrini examined Porzingis in Atlanta and said that Porzingis was healthy. ”
Source?
Everything I’ve seen on the issue says Celebrini merely reviewed the medical records – he never went to Atlanta as far as I can tell.
“Based on reports from Anthony Slater, it was noted that the Warriors needed to get Kristaps Porziņģis in the building to go through the Rick Celebrini clearance protocol immediately following the trade, rather than Celebrini traveling to Atlanta beforehand.”
Whether it was in Atlanta or locally Celebrini’s sign-off was a requirement. And he gave his sign-off.
It’s unfair to Celebrini but he’s on the hook.
Who trades for a player they know isn’t healthy. Warriors didn’t care because it was an expiring contract. So to them it was acceptable. There is no way in sports you trade for a player. When you don’t know the gravity of their medicals. Plus in all trades players must pass a physical. Warriors have always known.
Smells like retirement.
Nah. Smells like a FA testing the market, nothing more.
I’d agree but ….the whole debilitating disease thing he’s got going on makes me think there’s more on his mind.
Retirement? He literally said “[Wednesday] honestly was a big step forward for me,” Porzingis said. “To have a game like this, it means a lot. To pull it out of somewhere, and it was there. Definitely a big step in the right direction.”
That’s not what retirement sounds like. This sounds more like “I want to see if I can get on the Thunder, Celtics, Pistons, Spurs, Knicks first, and if not, I will go back to GSW”
Possibly man, but this sounds like a man struggling with his health and wondering what’s next, to me.
Because I’ve had an up-and-down year like this, this is an offseason in my career that I think I’m just going to take a step back, look at the whole picture and then see what’s the best direction for me.”
Glad you’re back man! I was asking about you yesterday.
Back? I literally never left?? Did that MAJORLY ANNOYING thing that happens on here where I go to work for 8 hours and cant post and you all think I died or left, or something?
You shouldn’t care about me that much. Just talk basketball, this isnt a place for socializing, we all are anonymous lmao
That’s fair but I’ve lost a few friends to suicide and I tend to look out for my people.
“A few friends” we arent friends, we are posters on the same board.
Yall, even people who dont hate on me, really need to lay off the parasocial-ness. No one here is real, everyone could go away at any minute and it does not matter.
* facepalm *
You don’t listen you just talk at people.
I’m not “listening to” anonymous people. Ever.
You listen. I know cuz you rage out when your feelings get hurt lol.
@daveyj, you and I both want to spend our precious cap space on a player that can help Steph… do you really want a guy that is certain to miss 1/2 our games?
“@NBAisOK , what do you think the Duns will offer him?”
I’m led to understand (based on “sources”) they will offer 2 years “somewhere in the $18 million to $24 million per year range” and if it was up to me it would be at the low end with a team option in the 2nd year.
Of course, he will counter, and a lot will depend on what the med staff feels as far as his availability will be going forward.
@NBAisOK. I’ll be shocked if any team offers him 2 years at $18M-$24M/yr. There isn’t a precedent for such an offer based on, one, his established value as a “healthy” player and, the risk deriving from his recent injuries and ailments.
He’s been given a $30M/yr player assuming he plays 65 games. But he’s played 57, 47, and 32 games the last 3 seasons. He’s averaged 44 per season in the last 10 years.
He was already the least available NBA player with more than 5 years of play. But, now, he also has POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), which can activate at any time, for any duration.
He’s not getting an offer that guarantees 2nd year money. Nor will any team risk $18M-$24M to a player virtually certain to miss > 30 games.
I guess we will find out – but I agree that he might have to settle for the MLE
No, I want Giannis and TM3.
You want Giannis but it’s gonna be KAT.
KAT isn’t a winner. He won’t be on the Knicks next year. Try Grizzlies.
Knicks are going to trade KAT out and bring in Giannis. Warriors will move in and grab KAT.
Knicks dont have anything the Bucks want for Giannis.
Giannis doesn’t want the Warriors.
He will if Kerr isn’t there. There will be a stampede of players who would play there if Kerr is not there – KD and Harrison Barnes to name two.
KD doesn’t like Kerr??
KD wanted more minutes, Kerr refused to let anyone go over 32 because that was the most Steph was allowed to regularly play. KD wanted to avg 37-38 MPG and Kerr said no. The KD back to GSW trade was nixed by KD, not either team. He hated playing under Kerr.
They gave him more minutes than that lol
Aside from injury-rehab and rookie years, his career lows in MP are his 3 years with GSW lol. He played more MPG this year at 37 than he ever did at GSW:
link to basketball-reference.com
No way he hates Kerr over 90 seconds a game. Gotta be more to it than that.
It was closer to 360 seconds, not 90.
It was closer to 34 not 32.
KD averaged 36.7 MGP the last 3 seasons. He wanted 37+ from Kerr. Stop openly lying about something you do not know anything about, just to argue.
Where did I openly lie? Lmao
KD avgd 34.1 min/gm in his reg seasons with GSW, as your link proved.
“(Giannis) will if Kerr isn’t there. There will be a stampede of players who would play there if Kerr is not there – KD and Harrison Barnes to name two.”
Beyond Delusional
Giannis is going to NY or Miami.
I hope they add players that are more likely to remain healthy. Especially given that anyone they sign is likely going to want a mult-year deal, and will be with the club after next season, aka the “Dubs last dance.”
“…I’m just going to take a step back, look at the whole picture and then see what’s the best direction for me.”
Translated: Who will pay the most for the 35-45 games I might play in next season?
I think that there has been a daily article about KP since he went to GS.
Its astonishing.
There has been alot of magical thinking that he would suddenly play more often.
Despite it being repeated that everyone remains daily hopeful.
Every team would want KP if he played 75%-90%.
GS is not alone in this.
Every team would.
If GS could re-allocate that $30m for a different player that is more consistent, they would in a heartbeat.
Cadagan1. Good take.
The “magical thinkng” by W’s fans has gotta stop. Old and injured players aren’t suddenly going to get healthy. The team needs to get younger immediately.
Guys to move on from:
Kristaps
Jimmy
Dray
Melton
Payton II
Seth Curry
Pat Spencer
Horford
Extend then trade Podz for a better fit. Also look into seeing if a rebuilding team has interest in Moody for later, in exchange for a currently healthy player, or draft pick. GSW can’t play with such a short roster all year like they did this year.
I can see GSW moving on from a lot of those names, probably not all of them, but there’s plenty reason not to want them back and health is the primary one.
Best case they sign him to a prove it 1+1 contract. I think they have a mid level exemption available up to 15 million?
If someone else wants to over pay for him let them. This off-season it’s gotta be big game hunting, either Giannis or LeBron.
Or both! AND Kawhi if Kawhi’s contract gets voided and he becomes a FA too.
DNKP wants a big deal. I told you guys that.
Truth is a healthy KP is a good fit for Kerrs offense. Unfortunately he can’t be trusted. I don’t see any team offering more than 2-3 yrs 10-15 mill a yr.
I said this before. Vucevic will sign for 15 mill. He doesn’t miss time. This is why you draft Raynaud.
But what do I know, right. Imo Warriors should also try and sign Simons cheap. He’s made for this offense. And he’s a ball handler. Better not pass on Lendeborg
Come back to Boston big man!
Boston doesn’t want him. They know he can’t stay healthy.
He’s too risky to sign. Whoever signs him is getting ~30 games a year at less than 100%.
Hits keep on coming lol
Imagine you had this guy …..
“ March was Raynaud’s busiest and best month. Averaging 33 minutes across 15 appearances, he shot 59.5%, including 8-for-18 on 3s, while putting up 17.9 points and 8.5 rebounds. The Kings joined him, going 5-for-10 for the month.”
> March was Raynaud’s busiest and best month.
Raynaud seems like a nice young player, but be careful to draw too many conclusions from garbage time and “tanking” games, especially when you’re playing for the worst team in the league.
Those stats mean little.
@aristotle
Raynaud is 100% the guy the Warriors should have drafted instead of Koby Brea. He is a perfect fit and low cost. His stats don’t mean much, but he was a huge swing and a miss by the front office, even if Kerr only gave him 15 MPG, that’s still probably winning more games than playing 4 undersized shooting guards at the same time.
If you want a response ari — man up dude.
Muting when you feel like it is real adult of you.
You wouldn’t know talent. If it was given to you. Go find takers for Jimmy. See what you come up with.
Only cowards seek out posters they mute.