Warriors Steve Kerr Reveals Kristaps Porzingis Free Agency Plans

It has only been a month since new Warriors big man Kristaps Porzingis first suited up for Golden State but already, the Dubs have gotten the full Porzingis experience. He played one game after the All-Star break before he went out with a mysterious illness that kept him sidelined for the following six games, the same mysterious illness that has wiped out the last few years of what could have been a stellar career.

It’s frustrating for coaches, for teammates, and for fans. But it’s just part of what having Porzingis on board means for your team. The Mavericks, Celtics and hawks dealt with it before the Warriors, who have taken the mantle now.

Then, there are nights like Monday in Washington, where you see what all the fuss is about when it comes to Porzingis: He had 30 points in that game, on 8-for-13 shooting, adding three blocked shots and two steals. Coming off a 20-point game in his previous outing, the glimpses of what is possible with Porzingis–especially with a healthy Stephen Curry–can’t help but excite.

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Warriors Will Face Long-Term Decision on Kristaps Porzingis

But the Warriors will be faced with a constant will-he or won’t-he question about Porzingis’ fitness to play. That’s not going to change, and folks within the organization will say, that’s the gamble they knew they were taking when they made the deal with the Hawks for Porzingis last month.

The big-picture question is whether the Warriors want to gamble on Porzingis, long-term? He is a free agent after this season, and despite the fact that his games played in the past three years have gone from 57 to 42 last year to 22 this season, it appears the Warriors would still like to keep him for the 2026-27 season.

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Warriors Will ‘Show Him What We Have to Offer’

Warriors coach Steve Kerr confirmed that during an appearance on 95.7 The Game in the Bay Area on Tuesday.

Said Kerr: “I think the whole point in trading for him you know, a couple weeks back was, we get the end of this season to make a run, to see what he can do, see what we can do with him, pair him with Steph and then he’s an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season but he’s our guy. We get to show him what we have to offer him, we get to know each other.

“I think ideally, for everybody, he would re-sign and come back and be an important player for us for many years.”

Now, there are things that can interfere with the “ideal” plans. Porzingis could sit out again at any moment down the stretch and force the Warriors to wash their hands of him altogether. There’s also a matter of price–we know Porzingis’ talent but we know his injury history. What’s that going to be worth on the open market, and how much would the Dubs pay?

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Kristaps Porzingis Says He’s Feeling Better

For now, though, the arrow is pointing up on the Warriors and Porzingis. He is expected to play on Wednesday in a return to Boston, and another 30-point night is probably needed for Golden State to have a chance in that one.

But Porzingis said after the Wizards win that he is feeling better.

“I just played my game, I wasn’t doing anything different. Guys were finding me. …” he said. “Finding me in good situations and I just played my game. My energy is getting a lot better. Still working my way back but I think the way I am building up and doing more things on the court, means I got a little more in reserve, start to build that up, you know?

“So, still only 25, almost 26 minutes, but obviously was feeling the best so far. Each game, I would say it’s improving.”

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