Kristaps Porzingis #8 of the Golden State Warriors
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Kristaps Porzingis #8 of the Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors, after finally moving on from wing Jonathan Kuminga by sending him to the Atlanta Hawks at the trade deadline, took a gamble on big man Kristaps Porzingis in the deal. Porzingis had been dealing with Achilles tendon soreness and had not played since January 7. He came back, finally, after the All-Star break and played 17 promising minutes, scoring 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting.
The Warriors can’t be sure when they’ll see Porzingis back on the floor. The team announced on Monday that he would not be making the two-game road trip to new Orleans and Memphis on Tuesday and Wednesday, which means Porzingis won’t be back on the floor until Saturday evening against the Lakers.
That’s the hope, at least. The reality might much colder. Dealing for Porzingis was always going to be a high-risk, high upside gamble, but the Warriors are already afraid they’re going to lose that gamble. One source said the team is, “concerned,” about Porzingis’ health, but added, “it was always buyer beware,” on Porzingis and that team still sees the deal as, “one that could still work out.”
Kristaps Porzingis Struggled in the Playoffs in 2025
That is a longshot, though. Remember, the buyer beware part of Porzingis’ situation is one that has gotten increasingly worse for him as the year have gone on, and bottomed out last year in Boston when the Celtics attempted to nurse him along through the regular season and have him in good form for the playoffs.
He did play in the postseason, but Porzingis struggled badly. He averaged 7.7 points, 31.6% shooting and 15.4% 3-point shooting. The Celtics were better with him off the floor than on it by a significant margin–the Celtics’ net rating with Porzingis playing in the 2025 playoffs was minus-10.3.
Warriors Knew of Kristaps Porzingis Disorder
It would be easy to pile on Porzingis for his struggles, and onto the Warriors for making the deal, but Porzingis has been diagnosed with an autonomic nervous system disorder known as POTS, which stands for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. It’s an unpredictable ailment–it causes Porzingis’ heart rate to speed up and makes him dizzy just by standing up.
The Warriors knew about POTS and Porzingis when they made the deal, but there has long been some hope that Porzingis could find a way to manage the condition. If the Warriors could help him with that, the thinking was, he could be a terrific fit for an offense that badly needed a revamp after the January knee injury to Jimmy Butler.
Jimmy Butler Injury Affected Warriors Decision
In fact, it was the Butler injury that nudged the Warriors into taking a bigger swing on a Kuminga trade with Porzingis. Had Butler been healthy, the Warriors might have been a bit more conservative in how they approached trading Kuminga. There were other offers on the table for Golden State, but the Butler injury felt like an impetus to try to bring in a game-changing big man.
Unfortunately, that big man can’t stay on the floor. And if the experience Boston had with Porzingis in last year’s playoffs is any indication, they might not want him on the floor when the postseason comes, anyway, not if he is still struggling with his illness.