The Golden State Warriors are in no man’s land, both this season and the next few years of the franchise, as they come to grips with the final chapter of Stephen Curry‘s career and what to do with some of their key players, specifically Kristaps Porzingis.
Porzingis, whom the Warriors traded for at the deadline for Jonathan Kuminga, is on an expiring contract, and what the team does with him in free agency this summer has been a looming question that, for the time being, is still undecided.
However, as general manager Mike Dunleavy has said in the past, there is an expectation that Golden State will sign Porzingis to a new deal. Still, he likely isn’t going to get anything close to his current contract, but with the salary cap restrictions and deals the Warriors have right now, they might be forced to overpay for the Latvian center who has consistently dealt with health and injury problems this season and throughout his career.
Warriors Face Massive Kristaps Porzingis Free Agency Decision
Porzingis is in the final season of a two-year, $60 million contract extension he signed in 2023 when he was with the Boston Celtics.
The Warriors knew that his impending free agency would be an issue they’d had to address this summer, but right now, it remains uncertain what the future holds for him in the Bay Area.
Previously, there was the expectation that Golden State would sign him to a deal much smaller to what he’s being owed now, as they wanted to keep him, but didn’t want to sacrifice a big chunk of the salary cap or restrict any other blockbuster moves that they could make.
However, according to Dan Favale of Bleacher Report, he believes the Warriors will ‘overpay’ for Porzingis this summer, as they need another player to take Kuminga’s team-option slot on their books.
“Fortunately for him, the Golden State Warriors need to replace the Jonathan Kuminga team-option slot,” he wrote. “Other than Draymond Green‘s $27.7 million expiring salary (player option), they don’t have anyone between the ranges of Moses Moody ($12.5 million) and Jimmy Butler ($56.8 million), both of whom won’t be available for good chunks (or all of) next season as they recover from major injuries.”
At his best, Porzingis offers a lot to the table, especially with the spacing he can create with players like Curry and Green. However, his overall health status both now and going forward remains uncertain, which clouds any guarantees that he’ll get a new deal from the Warriors.
“Kristaps Porziņģis as a concept is worth his own Brink’s truck. Ginormous centers who protect the rim, stretch the floor and can get their shots off over anyone in the mid-post area are pretty valuable, it turns out,” Favale added. “Illness and injury have severely limited his availability the past two seasons. Managing both probably isn’t getting easier as he heads into his age-31 season.”
If Golden State does resign Porzingis as a free agent this summer, regardless of the contract details, it will come with a lot of risk.
Kristaps Porzingis This Season With The Warriors
In nine games with the Warriors this season, Porzingis is averaging 15.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists on 41.9/27.8/82.7 shooting splits, all of which are a bit down from the 17 games he played with the Atlanta Hawks in the first half of the year.
When healthy and playing well, however, Porzingis offers the exact type of skillset Golden State could use. That was evident in his recent 30-point game, but as seen with his game log, a performance like that hasn’t been a common occurrence.
But his season-high 30-point night is the exact reason why he both got his current contract and looks to be staying with the Warriors in free agency this summer. His shooting, rim-protection, and spacing are top-tier; he just can’t offer that skillset on any given night.
In his brief tenure in the Bay Area, Porzingis has played in just nine of 21 total games since the deadline, dealing with a ‘mystery illness’ and a few other health concerns.
Still, while injuries and his overall health remain a massive concern, as has been the case over his entire career, signs point to the Warriors resigning Porzingis this offseason, albeit likely for a much smaller contract than the one he’s on now, because at his peak, only a few players in the NBA offer what he can on the court.
“We see him as more than a rental,” Dunleavy said in early March. “We feel he can help our team this year, better our playoff position, and then moving forward fits what we are looking for.”
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