Warriors Notes: Porzingis, Curry, Green, Lendeborg
Team sources continue to express little optimism that Kristaps Porzingis will play another game for the Warriors, reports Anthony Slater of ESPN.
Breaking down where things stand with Porzingis, Slater writes that the Warriors expected Porzingis to be around the team this fall even though he’s unable to play due to a health issue. However, the veteran big man hasn’t been back at Golden State’s facilities since early October, and the team has adjusted his designation on injury reports from “general illness” to “not with team,” a change that Slater describes as purposeful. According to Slater, Porzingis’ absence can “no longer be described as excused.”
The Warriors have internally discussed the possibility of deeming Porzingis’ absence a failure to render his services, sources tell ESPN, which could open the door for the team to recoup some of his salary or even void his contract. However, that would be a complicated path that could lead to a prolonged battle with Porzingis and the NBPA — and while reducing or eliminating the 31-year-old’s cap hit would ease Golden State’s luxury tax burden, it wouldn’t really open up many new roster-building options for the team, which would still be well over the cap.
The front office’s preferred route would be to take a similar approach to Porzingis’ contract that it did with De’Anthony Melton’s one-year, $12.8MM deal in 2024/25 after he tore his ACL, says Slater. Golden State attached second-round picks to Melton’s contract in a December 15 trade for Dennis Schröder that season.
However, with no teams looking to shake up their rosters this early in the season – and few, if any, expected to be in tanking mode – there aren’t any viable options for the Warriors on the trade market at this point, so the club is willing to be patient and let a market materialize, according to Slater.
We have more on the Warriors:
- The Warriors’ first win of the season, a 134-114 victory in Denver on Monday, may have provided a blueprint for how the team can succeed in 2026/27 despite missing a handful of key contributors, writes Nick Friedell of The Athletic. As Friedell explains, Golden State got contributions from players up and down its roster vs. the Nuggets, ranging from star guard Stephen Curry (24 points on 8-of-8 shooting in 27 minutes) to reserves like Georges Niang (nine points), Gary Payton II (seven points), and Brandon Williams (six points, +14). “I like our roster,” head coach Steve Kerr said after the win. “I think we’re pretty deep … we’ve got some vets who can really play.”
- In a separate story for The Athletic, Friedell takes a closer look at the bond between Curry and Draymond Green, the longtime Warriors teammates who have developed their own shorthand over the years. While they recognize they might not have many more years playing together, Curry says knowing the end is near gives the duo more reason to appreciate the present. “The thoughts of the end only make the urgency now more real and more motivating, if you will, because that’s all we can control,” he said.
- The Warriors’ infamous “second timeline” plan, centered around continuing to contend for titles while developing future cornerstones like James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga, didn’t work out like the organization envisioned, but Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic wonders if rookie Yaxel Lendeborg might help create a do-over for the Warriors. Lendeborg, who had 31 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists in Monday’s win, already looks like a long-term core piece for Golden State. “The addition of Yaxel,” Kerr said, “and the ability to kind of do what Jimmy (Butler) does — slow the game down, be fouled, create shots for himself or others — it’s a game-changer for us.”