The Warriors are heading into training camp with a familiar problem already hanging over them: they’re short on bodies, and one of the biggest names in the room won’t be with them in Hawaii.
General manager Mike Dunleavy said Kristaps Porzingis will miss the start of camp because of an undisclosed “health issue,” and he didn’t have any timetable for when the veteran center might return.
“He’ll miss the start of camp, and I don’t have a timeline for him or anything further than that,” Dunleavy said at media day at Chase Center.
Porzingis is not traveling with the team to Hawaii. Dunleavy said he could not get into the specifics of the issue when asked whether it was tied to the postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, that Porzingis said he was diagnosed with several years ago.
“I just learned (about it) yesterday … he was in last week doing well and everything,” Dunleavy said. “I don’t have a timeline on it, and hopefully he’ll be back soon.”
The setback comes after a stop-and-start run for Porzingis in a Warriors uniform. He played in just 15 games after being traded from Atlanta at midseason, and he missed another 15 because of illness, a back injury and Achilles tendon management. He also signed a two-year, $40 million extension this summer.
The bigger concern for Golden State is what this means for an already thin center group. Porzingis has battled injuries throughout his career and has reached 60 games in a season only once in the past 10 years. He shot 31.1% from 3-point range as a Warrior, and now the team is left leaning on a shaky depth chart.
Draymond Green, 36, and Al Horford, 40, are both in the injury-prone stage of their careers. After them, the options are career backup Charles Bassey, two-way contract Malevy Leons and rookie power forward Yaxel Lendeborg.
Coach Steve Kerr said that even if Porzingis is cleared by the start of the season, the Warriors will likely have to take a careful approach with him and the rest of the older frontcourt.
“This is all part of the season, the health of the team, and these things happen,” Kerr said. “So you just roll with it and keep moving forward.”
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