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Kristaps Porzingis now of the Golden State Warriors.
There was some speculation, before the weekend actually hit, that after the Golden State Warriors traded Jonathan Kuminga to the Hawks for oft-injured big man Kristaps Porzingis, the Dubs could see Porzingis in uniform and on the floor in time for Saturday’s primetime game against the Lakers.
Alas, that was not the case and, in fact, the Warriors will wait until two weeks after the passing of the February 5 trade deadline to finally debut Porzingis in a Golden State uniform.
After the game against the Lakers, the Warriors will go on to play the Grizzlies on Monday and the Spurs on Wednesday, then head into the All-Star break. They will return to the floor on February 19 against the Celtics, the team Porzingis helped to a championship two years ago. That’s expected to be the Warriors debut game for Porzingis.
As beat reporter Anthony Slater of ESPN wrote on Twitter/X: “Steve Kerr said the Warriors plan is to hold Kristaps Porzingis out the next three games, keep him working in San Francisco during the All-Star break and debut him out of the break.”
Kristaps Porzingis Has an Achilles Tendon Injury
Of course, the fact that Porzingis has had trouble with availability is the only reason the Warriors had a realistic chance of acquiring a player of his size and talent for the bare price they paid at the deadline–Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield.
Porzingis has played in just 17 games this year, and most recently, he has been dealing with left Achilles tendinitis that has kept him out since December. He has also had surgeries on his knee and foot, but most concerning is that Porzingis was was diagnosed last year with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, a condition that can cause his heart rate to spike when standing up.
He played only 42 games last year with the Celtics, and was a negative when he tried to play through his ailments in the postseason (7.7 points, 31.6% shooting, 15.4% 3-point shooting). Porzingis has been good this season, when he’s able to take the floor: 17.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists, and he’s made 36.0% of his 3s, blocking 1.3 shots per game.
Warriors Should Adjust Easily
Porzingis went through a workout this weekend with Warriors team personnel, including trainer Rick Celebrini. He was encouraged by how it went.
“It was a good workout,” he said. “Building slowly back up, because once I start playing, I want to hit the ground running. That’s my goal, and I am feeling pretty good. So, step by step.”
He does think that, once he is ready to take the floor, it should not be long before he and his new teammates can get in sync.
“I think it will be pretty natural,” Porzingis said. “I think I always say that also because I feel like I am the type of player that can fit into any type of offense. So, I expect it to be pretty smooth. We’ll see, we’ll see. Of course, it takes a little bit of time to get adjusted to everybody, to guys getting used to how I like to play, and where I like to get the ball.
“But I think these guys are very experienced, they’ve been played at a high level for a long time. So, I believe it will be easy and I will also be able to learn from them.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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