Warriors Notes: Porzingis, Kerr, Green, Seth Curry
Kristaps Porzingis has been cleared to play for the Warriors in Tuesday’s matchup against the Bulls, ESPN’s Anthony Slater writes. This will be his third appearance for Golden State since being acquired in the Jonathan Kuminga trade.
After playing 17 minutes on February 19, in which he scored 12 points on five-of-nine shooting, the Latvian big man missed the next six games before returning on Saturday, scoring nine points with five assists and five rebounds in the loss to the Thunder.
Porzingis has been struggling with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) since last season. He spoke recently about getting cleared to play and his belief that he’ll be more available for the rest of the season than he has been to this point, though he understands fans’ skepticism given his inconsistent playing status.
Draymond Green and De’Anthony Melton are questionable for tonight’s game.
We have more from the Warriors:
- Warriors coach Steve Kerr has once again called for a shortening of the NBA season, according to the writers at ESPN. “I know this will not be a popular opinion in the league office, but I will continue to say it because it’s obvious we need to play fewer games — we need to take 10 games off the schedule,” said Kerr. “I think it would be a more competitive and healthier league if we played fewer games.” Kerr, who coaches the oldest roster in the league by average age, understands that the financial implications of such a change would be steep, but believes the benefits outweigh the costs.
- Green knows that his skillset is not one of a typical NBA star, which is why he considers his brain his biggest superpower on the court, Taylor Wirth writes for NBC Sports. “The reason I say I don’t think anyone can be me, is because, yes I [play hard, physical defense], but it’s not the best thing that I do,” Green said. “I think I’m as smart as anyone in the NBA, and that’s my best skill.” Green had previously gone viral for seemingly self-effacing comments regarding players’ parents comparing their kids to him. “I know what you’re getting at,” Green said. “… I get it, but I’m here to tell you, your son don’t stand a chance at making it.”
- Seth Curry suited up for the Warriors for the first time since December and was very productive, scoring 13 points in 12 minutes while adding three assists. It was such an effective performance that his opponent, Jazz guard Elijah Harkless, turned to him for advice, writes Nick Friedell of The Athletic, who says Harkless asked: “How you come in and make shots right away?” While the Warriors still lost to the tanking Jazz, the return felt important to Curry, given what he’s been through this season. “There was like a month where I really couldn’t move,” said Curry. “I was just laying at home. And then once the pain went away I was able to rehab and try to get all my movement back, but it’s been tough … I just had a minor pain in my back, it got worse, worse, and then it just hit its tipping point.”
Pacific Notes: Porzingis, Dunleavy, I. Jackson, Fleming
Warriors center Kristaps Porzingis is optimistic he’ll be able to play more often to close the 2025/26 season, writes Anthony Slater of ESPN. After missing six games because of an illness, the Latvian big man returned to action on Saturday against Oklahoma City, finishing with nine points, five rebounds, five assists and a block in 23 minutes.
“I believe I will be healthy now,” Porzingis said. “This is what I really feel. Not to sell anything because I’ve been in and out, out again. But this time, I really feel this is it.”
Porzingis’ health issues date back to last season with the Celtics when he contracted a virus that limited his availability down the stretch. He told The Athletic prior to this season that he was eventually diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). The malady, combined with injury issues, limited him to 17 games with the Hawks before he was traded to Golden State last month.
“Especially getting traded somewhere else, I wanted to get out there as soon as possible,” Porzingis said. “Sitting out a couple games was stinging me a little bit. Today was OK. Feeling a little heavy, shot not in a good rhythm yet.”
As Slater notes, head coach Steve Kerr caused a stir last week when he said he was told Porzingis didn’t have POTS, calling it “misinformation.” Kerr later called it a “stupid mistake” to talk about Porzingis’ health.
“It wasn’t ideal,” Porzingis said of Kerr’s mix-up. “Because it put something out again, so people start talking again. I told Steve it was OK. I know he didn’t mean anything, didn’t want to create hype around my health. He just said what he knew at the moment.”
Veteran forward/center Draymond Green complimented Porzingis after Saturday’s loss, tweets Nick Friedell of The Athletic.
“The game’s a lot easier when he’s on the floor,” Green said.
Here’s more from the Pacific:
- Appearing on 95.7 FM’s Willard and Dibs show, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. explained his rationale for acquiring Porzingis, as Will Simonds of NBC Sports Bay Area relays. “I think the thought process for us on the trade was the opportunity to get a player of his quality, who, when healthy, is pretty good, pretty unique,” Dunleavy said in part. “Like, what he can do on the defensive end, what he can do on the offensive end. And then we had to calculate what we thought the ability and the chances of him being healthy and playing a bunch for us. We felt pretty good about that. We still do.” Porzingis is expected to play on Tuesday against Chicago after sitting out Monday’s loss at Utah.
- Clippers big man Isaiah Jackson is getting an opportunity to play after Yanic Konan Niederhauser was ruled out for the season due to a foot injury, per Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Head coach Tyronn Lue was pleased with Jackson’s performance after Saturday’s road victory in Memphis, when the the 24-year-old had 12 points, 12 rebounds, two steals and a block in 25 minutes. “Just how he plays hard. He plays hard and competes,” Lue said of Jackson, whom the Clippers acquired last month in a trade with Indiana. “He’s a guy that can switch and guard the basketball, offensive rebound, runs the floor, and can get behind the defense on pick-and-rolls. Tonight, like I said, it was just a game for him, and we needed his athleticism and his ability to switch. He did a good job for us.”
- Suns forward Rasheer Fleming hasn’t played much as a rookie this season, but the 31st overall pick in last year’s draft capitalized on his opportunity during Sunday’s win over Charlotte, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Fleming had a career-high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting in a career-high 23 minutes off the bench. “It was super impressive,” star guard Devin Booker said. “Just the willingness to wait for his moment and seize it. He’s still all ears and he still wants to learn more. He’s got a big effect on winning basketball games.“
Seth Curry To Return Monday For Warriors
Veteran guard Seth Curry will be active for Monday’s matchup at Utah, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr confirmed before the game (Twitter link via Nick Friedell of The Athletic).
Curry has been out for a little over three months due to sciatic nerve irritation (sciatica) on his left side. He has been upgraded to available on tonight’s injury report after previously being listed as probable.
A 12-year veteran, Curry has been limited to two games with Golden State since he re-signed with the club on December 1. The 35-year-old spent training camp and the preseason with the Warriors but was waived ahead of the 2025/26 regular season because his veteran’s minimum salary couldn’t fit under the team’s second-apron hard cap at the time.
Curry appeared in two games with the Warriors prior to the injury. The 35-year-old had 14 points (on 6-of-7 shooting), two rebounds, two assists and a steal in 18 minutes in his debut on December 2, then had zero points (on 0-of-2 shooting), two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 14 minutes on Dec. 4. He hasn’t played since.
The 6’1″ combo guard is the younger brother of Warriors superstar Stephen Curry, but the two have yet to play a game together this season, notes Kevin Borba of NBC Sports Bay Area. The elder Curry continues to be sidelined with a right knee injury.
Moses Moody (right wrist sprain) and Will Richard (right ankle sprain) remain out Monday for Golden State. Veteran big men Al Horford (left toe injury management) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness management) are out as well, but Kerr is optimistic they’ll both be available for Tuesday’s home game vs. Chicago, per Friedell.
Kristaps Porzingis Returning From Illness
Warriors big man Kristaps Porzingis has received medical clearance to play in tonight’s game at Oklahoma City, according to Brett Siegel of Clutch Points (Twitter link). It will mark just the second appearance for Porzingis since he was acquired from Atlanta at last month’s trade deadline.
Coach Steve Kerr expects him to play about 15-20 minutes, relays Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter link).
Porzingis has been dealing with a lingering illness that has affected him for much of the season. The first encouraging sign came when he was able to accompany the team on its current road trip, and he was upgraded to questionable after missing Thursday’s game at Houston.
Kerr took an optimistic tone before that contest, telling reporters, “It’s great that he’s here and great that he’s feeling well enough to be on the trip,” per Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle (subscription required).
Golden State traded for Porzingis in hopes of adding some scoring punch to help offset the loss of Jimmy Butler, who will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Porzingis was held out through the All-Star break before making his Warriors debut in a February 19 loss to Boston. He played 17 minutes and contributed 12 points, one rebound, one assist and one block.
Porzingis’ health issues date back to last season with the Celtics when he began to experience an illness that sapped his strength. He told The Athletic prior to this season that he had been diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). The malady, combined with injury issues, limited him to 17 games with the Hawks before the trade.
Although the Warriors could certainly use a bigger contribution from Porzingis as they fight for playoff position in the West, Draymond Green said that there’s been no pressure on him to return, either from management or teammates.
“When a guy is hurt or sick or whatever, there is no one around here pressuring you. … We don’t move like that,” Green said, per Gordon. “… When he’s healthy he’ll be out there. We don’t sit around pressuring guys to make them feel this angst that they’ve got to get back out there. You’ll get back when you can get back and we know it.”
Porzingis’ return appears to be the first step as the short-handed Warriors are starting to get healthier again. Kerr said De’Anthony Melton will miss tonight’s game with a knee issue, but should return for Monday’s contest at Utah. Seth Curry, who has only been available for two games all season due to a sciatic nerve-related injury, is expected back Monday or Tuesday. Stephen Curry remains sidelined with runner’s knee and will be reevaluated in a few days.
Pacific Notes: Brooks, Maluach, Payton, Porzingis, Curry
Suns wing Dillon Brooks was arrested on suspicion of DUI early Friday morning. His teammates say Brooks apologized to them for his actions, according to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic.
“Just hate to see it for him, but he’s human. We’re all humans,” Collin Gillespie said. “We’re not above anybody else. We all make mistakes. He knows that. He owned it He apologized to the team, but we got his back. Human beings make mistakes, we all make mistakes. Learn from it. He’s just in the public eye more than any other regular human being. That stuff goes on every day and you just don’t hear about it from other people because it’s not ‘Dillon Brooks’ per se.”
Brooks, who is sidelined with a fractured hand, was in attendance for the Suns game on Friday but didn’t speak to the media.
“I know he feels really bad about it,” Grayson Allen said. “I’m sure whenever he feels like he needs to say something, he’ll say something, but we’re still focusing on what we can do on the court with him out. We want to get him back and hold it down in the meantime.”
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Suns barely held off the Pelicans, 118-116, on Friday. Rookie lottery pick Khaman Maluach had a career-high five blocks in a season-high 20 minutes after posting 10 in his previous 27 games. “The biggest thing is just that he knows he’s getting consistent minutes,” coach Jordan Ott said, per Rankin. “Hopefully, the first-game jitters of being in there were out after last night. Doesn’t change, we wouldn’t put you in there if we didn’t believe in you, and we’re going to continue to help him.”
- If Seattle gets an expansion team, Gary Payton II wants to be a part of it. His father Gary Payton, of course, was a longtime star with the SuperSonics. He said, perhaps jokingly, that he’d request a trade from the Warriors to play there. “Respectfully. I love it here so much. But if we do (have a Seattle team) when I’m still here, I definitely want to go back and play there,” he told Nick Friedell of The Athletic. In any case, he’d like to see the NBA have a team in the city. “It was like a dream come true all over again,” he said of a potential franchise in Seattle. “To be able to see them, to be able to go there and we have an opportunity to sit down and watch a game. Hopefully, they can do it here in a few years so I can possibly go back and put on a Seattle SuperSonics jersey. But other than that, it’s for the basketball culture. Even if I do play for them or not, it will be good for the city of Seattle and good for the NBA.”
- Kristaps Porzingis and Seth Curry have been upgraded to questionable for the Warriors‘ game on Saturday in Oklahoma City, ESPN’s Anthony Slater tweets. Porzingis, battling an illness, has only played once for Golden State since being acquired at the trade deadline. Curry has been out since Dec. 4 due to a sciatic nerve-related injury
Warriors Notes: Curry, Green, Porzingis, Kawhi, Moody
The Warriors entered Thursday’s game in Houston having gone 23-16 with Stephen Curry available and just 8-14 in games he has missed. However, the shorthanded club, playing without Curry for a 12th straight game due to his knee injury, pulled out a surprising overtime win over the Rockets, as ESPN’s Anthony Slater writes, after the two-time MVP texted Draymond Green some words of encouragement before the game.
“Keep going,” Curry told his teammate, according to Green. “I know it’s tough, but promise you, I’m coming back.”
Head coach Steve Kerr referred to it as the “best game of the season” for Brandin Podziemski, who scored a team-high 26 points and grabbed five offensive rebounds in 40 minutes of action, and said Golden State got a “vintage” performance from Green. Two-way player LJ Cryer, who had played eight total minutes in three games and had been out for several weeks due to a hamstring injury, also came up big with 12 points in 20 minutes off the bench, Nick Friedell of The Athletic notes.
While Curry’s return still isn’t imminent and there’s no specific timeline for when he’ll be back, Green said he knows the star guard is doing everything he can to play again in the coming weeks.
“My confidence level is high, ultimately, because I know (Curry)’s going to put in all the work and do everything he can to get back,” Green said. “If his body allows him to get back, I know he will come back. He’s not wanting to just shut it down. For us, just got to stay afloat. Nobody’s expecting us to go on a 10-game win streak, but you just got to stay afloat. Tonight’s a big step towards that.”
We have more on the Warriors:
- Kristaps Porzingis has been able to do more on the court in recent days and the Warriors are hopeful that will trend will continue, Friedell writes for The Athletic. Porzingis is on Golden State’s three-game road trip and told The Athletic he’s feeling better after missing the last six games due to an illness, but Kerr was noncommittal on a timeline for the big man. “He’s gonna get a workout today, and we’ll just take it day by day from there,” Kerr said. ESPN’s Slater and Ramona Shelburne took a more in-depth look at the “mysterious” illness that has affected Porzingis over the past year and limited him to one appearance since the Warriors acquired him from Atlanta last month.
- Within that story on Porzingis, Slater and Shelburne cite league sources who say the Warriors were among the teams to inquire on Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard prior to last month’s deadline. Leonard ultimately stayed in Los Angeles even though L.A. traded James Harden and Ivica Zubac.
- Fifth-year Warriors wing Moses Moody sat out on Thursday due to a right wrist sprain, but he shouldn’t require an extended absence. Kerr referred to Moody last night as day-to-day, tweets Slater.
- During a radio appearance this week on 95.7 The Game, Kerr responded to criticism about the way the Warriors have developed young players in recent years, as Florito Maniego of NBC Sports Bay Area relays. “I think we’ve really addressed that over the last four or five years,” Kerr said. “We felt like there were some improvements we could make, and we changed some things organizationally. We brought in a couple of people to put them in charge of player development. I think we’ve done a pretty good job with that over the last few years. … I think part of the frustration of our fans probably stems from the fact that we have the three lottery picks coming at a time when we were winning a championship. And it’s just hard to play 19-year-olds on championship teams. The development that comes is going to be different than it would come on a team that’s in the lottery, where you just put a guy out there for 35 minutes and let him make his mistakes.”
Warriors Notes: Curry, Green, Porzingis, Williams
Stephen Curry has been sidelined since January 30 with a lingering right knee injury, leading to some outside speculation whether the 37-year-old star should be shut down for the rest of the season. Warriors teammate Draymond Green addressed that topic on his latest podcast and determined that it’s unlikely to happen, relays Eden Collier of NBC Sports Bay Area.
“He was preparing to come back in the season where we had won 15 games (in 2019/20),” Green said. “So I say that from experience when I say, he’s not just going to shut it down just to shut it down. It’s not who he is.”
Golden State has been reeling without its top scorer, falling to 31-30 and just barely holding onto eighth place in the West. A return may still be far away, as the team announced on Sunday that Curry won’t be reevaluated for 10 more days and his absence may extend beyond that point. Green assured listeners that owner Joe Lacob would never endorse tanking, but he also acknowledged that it’s hard to run an effective offense without Curry and Jimmy Butler, who was lost for the season with a torn ACL.
“All you can do is continue to fight, make sure you’re maintaining and building good habits,” Green said. “Try to give yourself a chance to win these games.”
There’s more on the Warriors:
- Kristaps Porzingis, who has missed the past five games due to illness, is traveling with the team on its three-game road trip, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter link). However, he’s already been ruled out of Thursday’s game at Houston. Golden State will also be without Moses Moody, who sprained his right wrist in Monday’s game, and Will Richard, who is sidelined with an ankle sprain.
- It would be a “fool’s errand” to re-sign Porzingis if he doesn’t show he can stay healthy, but his $30.7MM expiring contract will provide the Warriors with some cap flexibility for the offseason, notes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. The organization wanted to get something in return for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield, but it’s going to take a summer of maneuvering to make the deal pay off, Poole adds.
- The Warriors’ injuries enabled two-way player Nate Williams to log nearly 22 minutes and score a career-high 18 points on Monday, notes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle (subscription required). Williams, who went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and spent time guarding Kawhi Leonard, could play an important role until the rest of the roster gets healthier. “I’m just being myself and the team allows me to do that,” he said. “I give all thanks to (Steve Kerr) and the coaching staff for giving me an opportunity. They just let me be myself and they just put me on game as I go along.”
Warriors GM Dunleavy Talks Curry, Kerr, Kuminga, Porzingis
If Milwaukee had been willing to make a deal at last month’s trade deadline, the Warriors likely would’ve given up several of their future first-round picks – and swaps – to acquire star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. However, speaking to Tim Kawakami on his TK Show podcast (Spotify link) on Tuesday, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. pointed to the health issues currently afflicting his top players as an example of why surrendering significant future draft capital carries significant risk.
“I think going back to the Jimmy (Butler) trade last year, that’s why we loved the trade so much, because we’re getting a great player and we’re only giving up that year’s pick. There’s nothing out in the future,” Dunleavy said, according to Kawakami. “…I think we’re always being disciplined about using those picks, considering them in trades, things like that. But when you’re put in a situation like this, where your best players are out and you’re struggling to win games, I think you appreciate having that draft capital moving forward.”
In addition to missing Butler (torn ACL) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness), the Warriors are currently playing without their top scorer, Stephen Curry, who has been out since January 30 due to a knee issue. Asked by Kawakami if there’s any possibility that Curry gets shut down for the rest of the season, Dunleavy didn’t rule it out, but said it would be “very surprising” if that happens.
“I’m not a doctor and things can go a certain way,” he said. “I don’t want the headline to be, ‘Steph may be done for the year’ because I’m not ruling it out. But just because he’s not playing right now, I just have to acknowledge that, ‘Yeah, sure, there’s a chance.’ But we don’t expect that.”
Here are a few more of Dunleavy’s most notable quotes from his appearance on The TK Show:
On whether he expects Steve Kerr to be the Warriors’ head coach in 2026/27:
“I don’t see why not. I think Steve’s mentioned wanting to get to the end of the season and figure it out. I think things, for him, are going well. We’ll figure all that out when it comes. I think it’s been interesting, like the focus for us internally between myself, (team owner) Joe (Lacob), the players, Steve, has really been on like getting this thing right the rest of the season. So we haven’t put a whole bunch of thought into it.
“But you know, obviously, on a personal level, (I) love having Steve here. Yeah, I would project that he’s our coach next year. But again, we’re going down to absolute certainties, and a lot of it’s in his court, so we’ll have to see.”
On whether the Warriors seriously considered hanging onto Jonathan Kuminga through last month’s trade deadline:
“I think you guys know, it’s been put out there about (Kuminga’s) trade demand, and I think any time a player wants that, I want to try to accommodate. You want people who want to be here. And for that reason, we felt it was the right time to move on. I think JK’s happy about it, I think we’re in the right spot for it, it was just kind of the right thing to do at the time.”
On whether he’s satisfied with the information-gathering process that led to the Warriors acquiring Porzingis (who has been limited to a single outing since the trade due to health issues):
“That’s a great question, it’s a fair question. I think it’s really, really complicated. This is a unique situation. I’d say from our end, I feel good about, from the information we had, I feel good about our evaluation of what that was on the medical side. And for that reason, that’s why we made the trade.”
Injury Notes: Booker, Highsmith, Zion, Jovic, Warriors
The Suns, who went just 4-7 in February as they dealt with injuries affecting multiple starters and rotation players, will get some reinforcements on Tuesday in Sacramento.
As Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays (via Twitter), star guard Devin Booker is no longer listed on Phoenix’s injury report after missing the past four games due to a right hip strain. While the Suns split those four games without Booker available, they were clearly missing their leading scorer, having ranked 29th in the NBA in offensive rating during that stretch.
Recently signed swingman Haywood Highsmith also isn’t included on the Suns’ latest injury report, Rankin notes, which suggests he should be ready to make his season debut. Highsmith underwent surgery to address a torn meniscus in his right knee last August and experienced a setback in his rehab in October. He was traded from Miami to Brooklyn last offseason, was waived by the Nets last month, and signed with the Suns as he ramped up to return to action.
Two of Phoenix’s top wing defenders – Dillon Brooks (left hand fracture) and Jordan Goodwin (left calf strain) – remain out, so Highsmith should get a shot to earn rotation minutes now that he’s healthy.
We have more health-related updates from around the NBA:
- Pelicans forward Zion Williamson sat out on Sunday due to an ankle sprain, ending his career-high streak of 35 consecutive games played, but he’s listed as questionable to play on Tuesday vs. the Lakers and told Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter video link) he expects to suit up. Williamson will be motivated to appear in at least 16 of New Orleans’ final 20 games this season, since doing so would ensure he locks in at least 80% of his $42.2MM salary for 2026/27 (the remaining 20% could become guaranteed if he meets weight-related benchmarks).
- Heat forward/center Nikola Jovic will miss a fifth consecutive game on Tuesday due to a lower back injury, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Jovic says he doesn’t have any disk issues and doesn’t think the ailment is related to the stress reaction in his back that sidelined him for a significant portion of the 2022/23 season, but he admitted he’s struggling with the injury. “My back doesn’t feel good,” Jovic said. “The scan shows I got some inflammation, and one of my nerves doesn’t look great right now.”
- Warriors wing Moses Moody, who didn’t play in the fourth quarter of the team’s loss to the Clippers on Monday, jammed his wrist and injured his shoulder, according to head coach Steve Kerr, who said Moody will be evaluated further on Tuesday (Twitter link via Nick Friedell of ESPN).
- Kristaps Porzingis missed a fifth straight game with an illness on Monday and it’s unclear when the Warriors big man will return to action, Friedell writes for The Athletic. “It’s a little mysterious,” Kerr said of Porzingis’ illness. “We’re obviously working with him, and he can get some clarity, and he can kind of 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.”
Warriors Notes: Porzingis, Curry, Santos, Richard
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said he made a “stupid mistake” while discussing Kristaps Porzingis‘ health issues during an appearance Friday on a local radio show, writes Evan Webeck of The California Post. Kerr explained on 95.7 FM that Porzingis, who missed a fourth straight game on Saturday, has been suffering this week from a contagious illness that’s causing him to lose “a lot” of fluids. The Warriors coach said it’s not related to postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), the condition Porzingis said last October that he had been diagnosed with.
During that radio appearance, Kerr referred to Porzingis having POTS as “misinformation,” explaining that he was relaying what he’d been told by Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh, who formerly worked in Golden State’s front office and traded Porzingis to the Warriors at the deadline.
“I called (Saleh) and I said, ‘Is this POTS story real?’ He said it’s actually not POTS. That was some misinformation that was out there,” Kerr said on Friday. “I don’t know if anybody’s asked him about it. Bottom line is whatever was bothering him in Atlanta that was keeping him out has nothing to do with the illness last week. He was just sick.”
A day later, Kerr walked back the comments he made during that radio interview, telling reporters that Porzingis is being afflicted by a “medical issue way beyond my capabilities of explaining.”
“It was a stupid mistake by me to talk about something that I’m not qualified to talk about,” Kerr added. “So I regretted even trying to discuss the diagnosis. That was my mistake. I need to leave that to the professionals.”
Porzingis has only made one 17-minute appearance for the Warriors since the trade, but Webeck states that he returned to practice on Friday and Kerr said he’s feeling better.
There’s more on the Warriors:
- Stephen Curry said he’s not quite ready to return in an interview during the telecast of Saturday’s game, relays Angelina Martin of NBC Sports Bay Area. He missed his 10th straight game due to runner’s knee. “It’s going to be a little longer, but, like I said, right now with this one, it’s just about each day,” Curry told ESPN’s Malika Andrews. “Can you stack good days, and I’ve done that, so hopefully they can unleash me on the court soon, and like I said, get back out there sooner than later.”
- Gui Santos, who signed a three-year extension on Saturday, said it’s a result of doing what the Warriors have asked of him, per Nick Friedell of The Athletic. Santos has been able to work his way into the starting lineup after being drafted with the 55th pick in 2022. “I think the key word for that is patience,” he said. “Because when I got here, I was a point guard. Playing back in Brazil was like playing as a point guard, having the ball in my hand. Then I spent the whole year in the G League just learning how to fit in the system here. Because my goal always was playing in the NBA, playing for the Warriors. And I asked them what I got to do to do that, and they said, ‘We’re gonna give you the way. You got to play hard on defense, you got to be crashing the boards all the time, and you just got to find Steph — it’s easy.’ So I said, ‘All right, I’m doing that.’ I was just working at that in my first couple years.”
- The Warriors’ injury list grew longer when guard Will Richard was forced out of Saturday’s game with a sprained right ankle, the team announced (via Twitter).