The day leading up to the NBA‘s trade deadline didn’t fail to deliver, as there were several moves made around the league. One of which was made by the Golden State Warriors, who shipped off Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis.
The move brought an end to one of the bigger sagas surrounding the Warriors all season, as Kuminga made his desire to leave the Bay Area public earlier in the year. It also brought in something that Golden State hasn’t had all season, a lengthy partner for Draymond Green to share in the front court with.
While the Latvian has yet to make his Warriors debut, as he remains out with left Achilles tendonitis, it didn’t stop him from addressing the press recently, with one topic being his new teammate, Stephen Curry. The 30-year-old explained that he has been a fan of his new teammate for some time and that Curry raises the ceiling for those around him.
“I’ve been a huge fan of Steph [Curry] for a long time… always trying to say ‘what’s up’ to him after the game…” explained Porzingis. “Just watching him from the outside, he’s unreal, so to play alongside somebody like that will be really cool, and I think it brings the level up for everybody, when you have somebody like that on your team… it just makes everybody greater.”
This level of admiration for the four-time NBA champion makes sense, given that Porzingis, a member of the 2015 draft class, made his mark in the league during the Warriors’ mid-2010s dynasty. While the two have played against each other 10 times over the Latvian’s 10-year NBA career, they will play alongside each other for the first time when both Curry and Porzingis return from their injuries.
When they do so, it will be a certain boost for Golden State, which is 4-6 in its last ten games, sitting in the eighth seed in the Western Conference, three games away from the spots above them and below them in the standings.
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