SAN FRANCISCO — New Golden State Warriors big man Kristaps Porziņģis will not play Sunday against the Denver Nuggets because of an illness.
“I haven’t talked to him,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said before the game. “I got a text this morning that he was sick and at the hotel. He’s not even gonna come over here. He’s pretty sick.”
Kerr said it’s unclear whether Porziņģis will travel during the team’s two-game trip to New Orleans and Memphis this week. Kerr was also unsure what kind of illness Porziņģis had.
Porziņģis, 30, was acquired just before the trade deadline earlier this month from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield. He made his Warriors debut Thursday night against the Boston Celtics, and Kerr had been confident heading into the game that Porziņģis, who played 17 minutes against the Celtics, would be available to play a few more minutes against the Nuggets.
Porziņģis has dealt with a variety of health issues over the last two years, appearing in only 60 games. Kerr has said repeatedly that the Warriors wouldn’t have decided to trade for Porziņģis unless they thought he could stay healthy. In the short term, Kerr said young big man Quinten Post would take Porziņģis’ minutes.
Kerr also addressed veteran big man Draymond Green’s ongoing struggles during his pregame news conference, noting that he wants the 14-year veteran to continue to shoot from the outside when open. Green is shooting just 32 percent from beyond the arc this season. He was 0-for-7 from the field and registered a minus-28 in Thursday’s loss to the Celtics.
“We want him taking every open 3,” Kerr said. “He’s very capable. (The) San Antonio game right before the break, he was amazing, both his defense on Wemby (Victor Wembanyama) and then making multiple 3s and distributing the ball. We know what Draymond’s capable of. We know, too, that as you get older, it’s tougher to do it every night. In his prime, you could count on him every single night. You get older, it just doesn’t work that way. There’s gonna be nights when shots go in, there’s nights where they don’t, but the thing that’s consistent with Draymond is he’s there for us every night.
“The level of defensive intensity, but also just (his) acumen is so helpful for us. And then we just have to read the game. There’s been a few games lately where Al (Horford) has closed without Draymond. So, it’s our job as a staff to find the best combinations and read the game. In the past, Draymond would always be out there at the end of the game, and now it might be Al. Draymond understands that, and he’s handled that really well.”