The Warriors have started withholding salary payments from Kristaps Porzingis, saying the big man is not providing the services required under his player contract, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater.
That move triggers the league’s standard penalty for failure to render services: 1/91.6th of a player’s salary for every game missed, ESPN’s Bobby Marks reported. For Porzingis, that comes out to $218,341 per game, based on his $20MM salary for the 2026/27 season.
Golden State has been exploring trade options for Porzingis since the start of the season, and the team’s efforts are still active, Charania and Slater reported. The withheld pay does not affect the Warriors’ ability to trade him, and ESPN added that the club has no current plan to void his contract.
The situation has been building for weeks. Slater reported last week that the Warriors had expected Porzingis to be around the team’s facilities more often during his recovery, spending time with teammates and medical staff.
At that point, Slater said the issue could “no longer be described as an excused absence” and noted that Porzingis’ injury designation had changed to “not with team.” The 31-year-old reportedly has not been at the Warriors’ facilities since early October.
Porzingis has already dealt with major stretches of missed time over the past two seasons because of non-injury-related health problems. He also spoke last fall about being diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). Neither Porzingis nor the Warriors has disclosed details about the current issue keeping him off the floor, but Charania and Slater reported that it is serious enough that he is “leaning toward” ending his career.
There is a path for Porzingis to challenge the withheld salary through the National Basketball Players Association, since teams are allowed to hold back pay in cases like this. Ben Simmons went through a similar fight with the Sixers during the 2021/22 season after his holdout and back injury, filing a grievance over nearly $20MM in withheld money before the sides later settled and he received part of it.
For now, though, Porzingis has not formally contested the missed payments, league sources told ESPN. Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported that three sources believe Porzingis would have “strong interest” in reaching a buyout agreement that lets him keep part of his $20MM salary instead of fighting the game-by-game fines.
Golden State’s next move may come through the trade market. Porzingis signed a two-year, $40MM extension with the Warriors over the summer and holds a $20MM player option for 2027/28 that is only partially guaranteed for $3MM, giving him a pseudo-expiring contract that could make him movable before the February 11 deadline. Because he extended rather than signing as a free agent, he is already trade-eligible, so the Warriors do not have to wait until December 15 to deal him.
Even so, Fischer reported that the Warriors may need patience. Few teams are eager to make major roster changes this early, and Golden State would prefer to complete a Porzingis trade by December 16, which is the deadline for acquiring a player whose contract could later be re-aggregated in another deal before February’s deadline. The Warriors used a similar path last season, bringing in Dennis Schröder for De’Anthony Melton on Dec. 15 and then folding Schröder’s salary into the Jimmy Butler blockbuster less than two months later.
Golden State is also being careful about the kind of money it takes back. Fischer reported that the Warriors do not want to commit to a large multiyear contract that would cut into their 2027 cap room unless the return clearly improves their future.
Milwaukee has been mentioned as a possible trade partner, but Golden State’s interest in Myles Turner, who is owed $83.6MM over three years, is described as limited. Fischer said the Warriors would want a sweetener from the Bucks to absorb that contract.
Another name on Golden State’s radar is Chicago forward/center Jalen Smith, according to Fischer. Smith is on an expiring $9.4MM deal, but the Bulls’ position is complicated by the NBA’s new lottery rules. Sitting at 1-6, Chicago has incentive to stay competitive rather than slide into a bottom-three finish, which makes it unclear how willing the team would be to start selling this early in the season.
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