Things are going from bad to worse to downright bizarre in Golden State when it comes to former Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis. The latest reports coming out of camp indicate that the Warriors don’t know where KP is, what health issue he’s currently dealing with, or when he may return to the court.
It’s a disturbing twist in what has become a never-ending saga dating back to his final season in Boston. Porzingis battled a mystery illness that may or may not have been POTS and was very clearly not himself in the 2025 playoffs.
Health uncertainties and a $30+ million contract led the Celtics to make a somewhat unpopular decision, trading KP for salary relief. At the time, it seemed like a money dump, and in many ways it was, as it was a big step in getting the team under the luxury tax, but it was also the organization reading the tea leaves.
And sadly, it seems like they had the right read on the situation. KP wasn’t able to stay on the court in Atlanta last season, which led to them dumping him to the Warriors at the trade deadline. He was barely available for Golden State either, but with the team facing limited options and trying to cling to the Stephen Curry era, they extended Porzingis for two years and $40 million.
Warriors have no idea when Porzingis will be available
The ink was barely dry on that contract before it started looking like a mistake, which is trending towards disaster. KP wasn’t available for media all summer and hasn’t arrived yet, missing two weeks of training camp and four preseason games already, with no return in sight.
Obviously, the number one issue for Porzingis is his health, and the fact that he has been away from the team for this long with no real explanation is extremely concerning. But it’s also a reminder of the risks that have followed KP health-wise for most of his career, and why the Celtics were smart to get out ahead of the situation and cut bait.
Looking back, it’s somewhat remarkable that Brad Stevens was able to shed his contract in such a painless way, basically passing off the team’s problem to someone else. It’s a lot easier to have empathy for KP when he’s not burning salary in Boston, and it’s easy to see now that trading him away had to do with much more than money.
Hopefully, this isn’t it for Porzingis. He has been a fun player to watch, a unicorn of sorts who looked like one of the best players alive in his prime, and a helpful piece in raising Banner 18 in Boston. But this situation is a reminder that sports are a cold-blooded business, and Stevens and his crew absolutely made the right move at the right time.
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