Kristaps Porzingis is expected to report to the Golden State Warriors‘ facility on Tuesday afternoon, according to coach Steve Kerr. The center has missed the first two weeks of preseason while attending to what the team has called a private health issue, and his status for the regular season remains unclear.
Porzingis is expected to meet with Rick Celebrini, the Warriors’ lead medical decision-maker, when he arrives at the San Francisco facility. The Warriors will be in Las Vegas for a preseason game that same day, meaning the meeting will happen without the team present. Golden State opens its regular season at home against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 21.
What The Team Has Said About Porzingis’s Status
Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy has declined to rule Porzingis out for the opener, even as the illness drags into its third week. “I’m not marking him down as being out to start the season or anything like that. He’s just not available this week,” Dunleavy said at a preseason media session.
The Warriors announced in September that Porzingis would be out indefinitely before training camp began in Hawaii. Neither the team nor Porzingis has detailed the nature of the illness or said whether it connects to POTS. Porzingis contracted an upper respiratory virus while playing for the Boston Celtics two seasons ago and has since vaguely revealed the lingering impact it has had on his health and ability to consistently play.
He has not spoken to media since April. The Warriors say Porzingis has stayed in regular contact with Celebrini and the front office throughout his absence.
Depth Chart Impact While Porzingis Is Out
The Warriors have told Kerr to keep the team’s focus on the season rather than on Porzingis’s uncertain availability, according to ESPN. No corresponding frontcourt plan has been announced, and the sources do not identify who would start at center if Porzingis opens the season sidelined. Golden State is already managing roughly $90 million in contracts lost to injury, with Jimmy Butler out for a torn ACL and Moses Moody out for a torn patellar tendon.
Coach Steve Kerr addressed the broader absences directly. “Circumstances change every year. You get thrown a lot of curveballs in this business.
It’s always the same mentality, next man up, prepare for what’s in front of you and support everybody who’s not here,” Kerr said on Oct. 8. “Whether it’s Jimmy or KP or Moses, we’re always gonna give our players every bit of support and help them be the best versions of themselves and acknowledge that the train doesn’t stop moving. We’re having a great camp, really pleased with the progress we’re making.
Obviously, we’d rather have KP here and part of it, but he’s gotta take care of his health and we’ll support that and keep moving forward with the team.” (Kerr, per CBS Sports)
Porzingis’s Role And Durability This Season
Porzingis appeared in 34 games last season split between the Atlanta Hawks and Warriors, part of a career pattern of absences. The former No. 4 overall pick has reached the 65-game mark only three times in 10 seasons, and a torn ACL wiped out his entire 2018-19 campaign. Over his last three seasons he has played 57, 42 and 32 games for the Celtics, Hawks and Warriors, respectively.
Golden State acquired Porzingis from Atlanta at the trade deadline last season in a deal that sent Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Hawks. In 15 games with the Warriors after the trade, he averaged 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocks while shooting 43.3% from the field and 31.1% from 3-point range. The Warriors re-signed him this summer to a two-year, $40 million deal, but only $3 million of his $20 million salary for next season is guaranteed, a structure that allows Golden State to trade him at any point and limit its financial exposure.
What’s Next
Porzingis’s meeting with Celebrini on Tuesday could offer the first real look at where his health stands, though the sources give no indication of what testing or evaluation will take place or whether it will clarify his timeline. The Warriors open the regular season against the Lakers on Oct. 21, and Dunleavy has stopped short of ruling Porzingis out for that game.
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