By all accounts, the Golden State Warriors are eager to keep hold of big man Kristaps Porzingis as he heads into free agency this summer. Porzingis is, of course, the player the Dubs finally received after resolving the long-running Jonathan Kuminga saga, the two players swapped in a deal with Atlanta back at the NBA draft deadline. Though there were struggles with Porzingis–at least when it comes to health–but the Warriors knew all along he would be a gamble.
The Warriors want to keep that gamble going. The concerns about Porzingis, who missed half of his games with the Warriors after the trade, still linger. He was knocked out of 15 games with a back injury, an illness, and a calf injury–which has been typical of his last few years in the NBA. Porzingis played only 42 games with Boston in 2024-25.
From Golden State’s point of view, a willingness to re-sign Porzingis in free agency and afford him the opportunity to start next to Stephen Curry despite the health worries would be risky for the team and a no-brainer for the player. But Porzingis, it turns out, is not that sure about his future.
Kristaps Porzingis Warriors Future ‘A Good Question’
In a conversation with The California Post’s Melissa Rohlin, Porzingis said he is not clear about what he wants to do.
“That’s a good question,” Porzingis told The California Post. “I do love my time here, honestly. Not one bad thing I can say about the organization, the team, the teammates. I really love it here, I really do.
“As I said before, I haven’t had a good year. If I had a good year, I think I’d have a more clear picture of what I want to do. Because I’ve had an up-and-down year like this, this is an offseason in my career that I think I’m just going to take a step back, look at the whole picture and then see what’s the best direction for me.”
Kristaps Porzingis Could Leave NBA
Certainly, there won’t be a better opportunity to showcase Porzingis’s offensive versatility than what he’d get with the Warriors. There has been some concern that his physical ailments could nudge Porzingis into retirement, or back to Europe, where the schedule is less grueling than in the NBA. The Warriors have gotten no indication, though, that Porzingis won’t be back in the league next season.
It could, then, be a matter of money. It’s tough to figure what to pay a player who has appeared in just 60% of his games since he came into the league, a trend that has worsened. But then, Porzingis is still the 7-foot-3 unicorn he was when he entered the NBA, and averaged 16.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in the 15 games he played for the Warriors.
$35 Million Offer From Warriors?
Porzingis could likely get a midlevel exception deal, starting around $15 million, next season. The bet is that the Warriors’ offer will be a bump up from that to get Porzingis to stay.
“He could probably get the midlevel on the market so I think you’ll see the Warriors go to him with a contract that just beats that our and allows them to say, ‘This is more than you’ll get anywhere,’” one general manager said. “You have to have a team option for a second year to protect yourself, but something around $35 million for two years.”
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