The Golden State Warriors have stopped paying Kristaps Porziņģis, league.
They have ruled that the absent center is not rendering his services, so the semimonthly payments on his $20 million salary aren’t going out.
According to ESPN: “General manager Mike Dunleavy and the Warriors’ front office are still actively pursuing trade avenues utilizing Porzingis’ contract even as the 31-year-old leans toward ending his NBA career.
For rival teams, absorbing Porzingis’ near-expiring salary could either allow them to move a longer-term salary out to save money (plus clear a roster spot via buyout) or theoretically net a draft asset, depending on what the Warriors are willing to attach”.
League sources said Porziņģis isn’t disputing the lack of payments and the players’ association doesn’t plan to either.
The Warriors are not delivering payments to Kristaps Porzingis on his $20 million salary, ruling that he is not rendering services, sources tell me and @anthonyVslater. Golden State is permitted to move his contract at any point before the Feb. 11 deadline even without paying him currently, and will continue exhausting trade avenues as the 31-year-old leans toward ending his NBA career.
Absorbing Porzingis’ near-expiring deal would allow a rival team to move a salary out and save money and clear a roster spot via a buyout.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 4, 2026
There is a recent comparison, in different circumstances. Last season the Miami Heat withheld payments from veteran guard Terry Rozier while he was under federal investigation in a gambling scandal, but they still spent the months before the deadline exploring trades involving his contract.
How we got here is murkier. After an extended health issue over the past two seasons, Porziņģis signed a two-year, $40 million extension with the Warriors this summer, with only $3 million guaranteed in the second season. Then, on the eve of training camp, he called Dunleavy and stepped away. The Warriors initially gave him space but expected him to return to the facility and be around his teammates and the medical staff during his recovery, team sources said.
After a meeting in early October with Dunleavy and Rick Celebrini, the team’s lead medical decision-maker, Warriors put out a statement saying he would be around. It didn’t last. Porziņģis left the facility and hasn’t been back. The organization changed his official status from out with “general illness”, as it had listed during his absences last season, to “not with team”, a purposeful change. It’s no longer described as an excused absence.
On the court, the Warriors have won five straight since opening the season 0-3.
Warriors Begin Exploring Trades for Kristaps Porziņģis Amid Retirement Considerations
Yankeescores reported in October that the Golden State Warriors had begun exploring trade routes for veteran center Kristaps Porzingis, who remained out indefinitely as he dealt with a private health issue that had him seriously contemplating his future in basketball
