The Golden State Warriors have begun exploring trade routes for veteran center Kristaps Porzingis, who remains out indefinitely as he deals with a private health issue that has him seriously contemplating his future in basketball, league sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The Warriors released a statement Wednesday saying they were “not going to comment on trade speculation or reports regarding his health-related matter or future.”
Porzingis signed a two-year, $40 million extension with the team in June, but only $3 million of the $20 million in the second season is guaranteed, essentially making it an expiring contract. The front office strategically designed the extension without a raise between the two seasons, keeping him immediately trade-eligible instead of needing to wait until mid-December.
Despite the built-in flexibility, that wasn’t the idealized intent of the contract. Porzingis played in 15 of the team’s final 20 games last season, and the Warriors’ management believed he had an encouraging enough summer to pencil Porzingis in as the projected starting center next to Draymond Green and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg in the frontcourt.
Porzingis was in the team’s San Francisco facility and on the court in the week leading up to training camp. And he attended Jimmy Butler’s player-led event in San Diego in late September, though team sources described a detached Porzingis as indifferent and uninterested in participating in scrimmages and strenuous on-court prep work at the event.
On the Sunday before training camp, Porzingis called the Warriors and alerted general manager Mike Dunleavy that he was still dealing with the lingering impact of a health issue that has bothered him for nearly two years and said he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence.
Two seasons ago, Porzingis contracted an upper respiratory virus while playing for the Boston Celtics, and he has since vaguely revealed the lingering impact it has had on his energy level and ability to consistently play NBA basketball. Porzingis has termed it a POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) diagnosis, which can lead to bouts of dizziness, fatigue and brain fog.
After missing the first two weeks of training camp and the entire preseason, Porzingis drove up from Los Angeles to San Francisco on Oct. 13, league sources said, to meet with Dunleavy and Rick Celebrini, the franchise’s lead medical decision-maker.
In the aftermath, the team announced that the details of the meeting would be kept private but expressed an expectation that Porzingis would remain around the team as he tried to improve his health and eventually resume his career.
But that hasn’t been the case. Porzingis hasn’t returned to the facility, league sources said, beginning another indefinite leave of absence in which he is mostly maintaining contact with only Dunleavy and Celebrini. The Warriors listed him as out for Wednesday night’s season opener at the Los Angeles Lakers and the reasoning as “not with team” instead of an illness.
“As noted last week, conversations between the Warriors, Kristaps, and his representatives will remain private,” Wednesday’s statement by the Warriors read. “We are not anticipating Kristaps being around the team in the immediate future. We’ll provide additional updates when available and appropriate.”
If there is no breakthrough with Porzingis’ recovery, stepping away from basketball — for good — is possible for him, sources told Charania.
It’s unclear what type of trade market Porzingis’ contract would have at the onset of the regular season. Most front offices are generally intent on finding out what they have with their current mix before exploring larger shake-ups, but draft assets can always entice even without a guarantee Porzingis will return to an NBA court.
The Warriors still have a nearly full cupboard of first-rounders and several expiring contracts. Dunleavy has made it clear in his public statements that part of the team’s roster build this season allowed for an in-season trade strike if the right deal can be found.
Culled from ESPN
