The Golden State Warriors still don’t have a clean answer to the Kristaps Porzingis mess, and for now there’s no sign one is coming quickly.
According to Danny Emerman of The San Fransisco Standard, the Warriors are not looking to simply move on from the situation by pursuing a buyout or trying to void the veteran’s contract while he remains away from the team. That leaves Golden State in a holding pattern as the season gets rolling and other teams continue sorting out their own rosters.
The club would obviously prefer a resolution sooner rather than later, especially with its frontcourt rotation already thinned out. But the Warriors also appear willing to wait and see what becomes available before the mid-season deadline. Their recent play may buy them that luxury.
An 0-3 start had plenty of people bracing for a rough year and wondering what the Porzingis situation meant for the rest of the roster. Then came three straight wins, and suddenly there’s more confidence that Golden State can stay afloat until Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody return from injury and until the Porzingis drama is settled.
Emerman drew a parallel to Ben Simmons’ standoff with the Philadelphia 76ers from more than five years ago. Simmons remained in a holdout until just before the deadline, when he was dealt to the Brooklyn Nets in the James Harden trade. That kind of drawn-out ending is now part of the conversation in Golden State too, with February emerging as a possible checkpoint if this drags on.
The Warriors would love a cleaner outcome than that. In the best-case scenario, they’d land a move now that upgrades the roster immediately, ideally at center, while still keeping enough flexibility to make another deal closer to the deadline.
There’s also the version of this story Golden State can only imagine: Porzingis actually in uniform and giving them the dependable starting center they need. Instead, the team’s recent surge has only sharpened the frustration. With Yaxel Lendeborg’s stunning rise, Brandin Podziemski improving, and Stephen Curry still playing like one of the best in the world, Porzingis could have been the missing piece that helped turn the Warriors into a sneaky Western Conference contender, especially once Butler returned.
For now, though, Golden State is stuck searching for that missing piece on the trade market while leaning on Draymond Green and Al Horford to shoulder the center duties early in the season.
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