Ahead of the 2025-26 NBA trade deadline, the Golden State Warriors took a big swing in a deal with the Atlanta Hawks by acquiring big man Kristaps Porzingis.
Following the season-ending torn ACL suffered by Jimmy Butler, the Warriors entered the trade deadline with an aggressive mindset. They were heavily linked to pursuing Milwaukee Bucks superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, but after those talks ended they quickly pivoted to Porzingis.
When healthy throughout his career, Porzingis has been a star. Unfortunately, he has struggled to stay on the court in recent years.
Since being traded to Golden State, Porzingis has only played in one game. He scored 12 points, grabbed a rebound, recorded an assist, and blocked a shot in 17 minutes against the Boston Celtics on February 19.
With the Warriors now scheduled to hit the road for a two-game trip against the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies, fans were hoping to see Porzingis get back on the court. That doesn’t sound like it’s going to happen.
According to a report from ESPN’s Anthony Slater, Golden State has received more bad news about Porzingis.
"Kristaps Porzingis did not make the trip to New Orleans with the Warriors," Slater wrote. "It's a quick two-gamer with a back-to-back in Memphis. This would indicate Porzingis (out with illness yesterday) is expected to miss at least the next two games. Draymond Green did make the trip."
At this point in the season, the Warriors are simply trying to keep their head above water. Golden State holds a 30-27 record. if the season were to end today, the team would earn the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and would be scheduled to play in the NBA Play-In Tournament with a trip to the playoffs on the line.
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Porzingis played in just 42 games last season with the Celtics. He averaged 19.5 points per game to go along with 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game, while shooting 48.3 percent from the floor and 41.2 percent from three-point range.
Hopefully, he’ll be able to get back to full health soon. When he’s able to play at 100 percent, he could be exactly the difference maker that the Warriors need to be a contender in the West once again.
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