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Kristaps Porzingis #7 of the Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors took a high-risk gamble at this season’s NBA trade deadline, trading away disgruntled 23-year-old forward Jonathan Kuminga to the Hawks for Kristaps Porzingis, the 7-foot-3 center who has bounced through five teams in five years. It’s easy to see why teams get themselves enamored of Porzingis–he’s big, shoots like a guard, protects the rim and runs the floor. It’s easy to see, too, why teams give up on Porzingis. He gets hurt, a lot.
The Warriors have already gotten the full Porzingis experience in the month-and-a-half since they acquired him. He has averaged 15.9 points and is helping the Warriors generate frontcourt offense in a way they haven’t done in a long time. But he’s also played only nine of the 22 games the Warriors have had since bringing him in. Porzingis has missed time with a calf injury, an illness and, most recently, a back injury.
This is just how it goes with Porzingis, who has played only 61% of his games since he entered the NBA in 2015. Injuries have always been part of the deal.
Warriors Expected to Give Kristaps Porzingis Around Mid-Level Deal
The problem now, though, is that Porzingis will turn 31 in August and there is enough of a body of evidence to suggest he’s just never going to be fully healthy over the course of an NBA season. With Porzingis hitting free agency this summer, the Warriors now need to determine how much Porzingis is worth on a new contract–knowing that they’re likely to only get 50 games or so out of him, at best.
Part of that will be determined by the open market. Porzingis is worth as much as someone will give him. Around the league, the consensus seems to be a short deal that starts around the mid-level exception, which is $15 million for next season.
“He could probably get the midlevel on the market so I think you’ll see the Warriors go to him with a contract that just beats that our and allows them to say, ‘This is more than you’ll get anywhere,’” one general manager said. “You have to have a team option for a second year to protect yourself, but something around $35 million for two years.”
Kristaps Porzingis to Get a Short Deal
Another league executive agreed that Porzingis is looking at a short deal that leans toward team protection with the option year. The Warriors almost have to give Porzingis an offer like that–they can’t send out Kuminga in February, then have the main piece acquired in the Kuminga deal bolt in free agency in July.
The Warriors can sign Porzingis using Bird rights, which gives them the advantage of being able to exceed the cap to keep him. Teams do not like to lose Bird rights players when they don’t have to.
Warriors Contract ‘Just a Matter of the Number’
That applies even when they have the unappealing injury history that Porzingis has. The Warriors have said their intention is to keep Porzingis, and his struggles to stay healthy in the past month have not changed that. Ideally, they would have gotten a solid two months and seen how Porzingis fits with star guard Stephen Curry. But Curry has been out, too.
“They were always going to re-sign him, it’s just a matter of the number,” the GM said. “So much went wrong since then, and that is too bad, but there’s no sign it is going to change their approach. If it’s $15 million or so a year, and you’re only committing one year, that’s probably where things land.”
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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