The Golden State Warriors are off to a 1-3 start with center Kristaps Porzingis still absent from the team, and the front office is exploring trade options for the $20 million player. Porzingis, who was re-signed this summer despite missing 90 games over the past two seasons with three different teams, has not returned to the facility since calling general manager Mike Dunleavy and stepping away on the eve of training camp.
On opening night, Draymond Green, listed at 6-foot-6, started at center for the 15th season of his career. The Warriors’ staff gave Green a physical reprieve two nights later against the Memphis Grizzlies, but circumstances forced Golden State to start Graham Ike, a two-way undrafted center out of Gonzaga, in only his second career game. Al Horford, in his 20th season, cannot yet handle bigger minutes.
Green was still on the floor in the late moments of that opener, trying to box out the 7-4 Zach Edey. After failing to wall him off on a defensive rebound, Green committed a crucial frustration foul as the Warriors blew a 12-point lead and fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2020-21.
“We got what we got,” Green said when asked about the state of the Warriors’ center position. “So we got to make it do what it do.”
A no-excuse approach
Team sources said the Warriors felt a woe-is-me attitude about the schedule and injuries contributed to their 37-45 record a season ago. This season, they have taken a deliberate no-excuse approach. That has meant an out-of-sight, out-of-mind strategy regarding Porzingis. The front office instructed Steve Kerr to prepare the team as if Porzingis were not a factor.
Only Dunleavy and lead medical decision maker Rick Celebrini have communicated with Porzingis during his absence. Kerr has bristled at nearly every question about him in recent weeks.
“I don’t know,” Kerr said when asked for a recent update. “I don’t really have anything else to add on this.”
The decision to commit $20 million to Porzingis this offseason looms large over the 1-3 start. On opening night, opposing center Walker Kessler dunked 10 times, the most in a game by a Los Angeles Lakers center since Shaquille O’Neal in 2003.
After the game, Stephen Curry was asked about Porzingis’ indefinite absence. He tapped the table as his frustration showed.
“Aggggh,” Curry said. “It’s a hard one for all reasons.”
Curry twice emphasized the human side of the situation and expressed sympathy for Porzingis, who has publicly discussed the lingering effects of an upper respiratory viral illness he contracted while with the Boston Celtics two seasons ago.
“We always said availability was a big factor for our team with all the guys we have out,” Curry said. “It’s no secret that the [center] spot is an important one for us, especially with his skill set. It’s hard to talk about without keeping the humanity of it in mind. But it is a tough one to figure out.”
Team sources remain extremely pessimistic that Porzingis will ever play for the Warriors again. His contract, however, is guaranteed for only $3 million next season, and it could still be valuable in completing a trade.
How the situation developed
Porzingis’ current salary slot was created during the summer of 2025, in a restricted free agency standoff with Jonathan Kuminga. Dunleavy and the Warriors were uneasy about committing long-term to Kuminga but believed he held more value and upside than the sign-and-trade offers on the table. They held firm and eventually agreed to a two-year, $46.8 million deal that included a team option and required Kuminga to waive his implicit no-trade clause. Kuminga’s side felt he was being turned into a human trade exception.
In February, the Warriors sent Kuminga’s contract to Atlanta for Porzingis’ expiring $30.7 million deal. They maintained salary flexibility and believed they could manage Porzingis’ health well enough to get production from him.
That plan worked reasonably well at first. Porzingis appeared in 15 of the team’s last 20 games and averaged 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. That performance convinced the front office and medical staff to approve a two-year, $40 million extension in late June.
The Warriors protected themselves against the risk by guaranteeing only $3 million of the $20 million in the second season. They also structured the extension so Porzingis could be traded immediately instead of waiting until Dec. 15.
Dunleavy and the Warriors expected Porzingis to be a rotation piece for long stretches of the schedule, not just a tradable contract. Before camp, the coaching staff spoke enthusiastically about a front line of Yaxel Lendeborg, Green and Porzingis.
Optimism faded when Porzingis was in the practice facility the week before camp and attended Jimmy Butler’s player-led event in San Diego in late September. Team sources in attendance said he appeared indifferent and uninterested in taking part in scrimmages and strenuous on-court work.
The Warriors’ options
After a meeting with Celebrini and Dunleavy in early October, the team issued a statement saying Porzingis would be around the facility. That did not last. He has not returned, and the organization changed his official status from out with “general illness,” as it had listed him during last season’s absences, to “not with team.” The team considers this a deliberate change, and it no longer counts as an excused absence.
Porzingis’ refusal to be present could be classified as a failure to render his services, a point raised internally, sources said. The Warriors could use that to try to void his entire contract. That path would bring its own complications, unless Porzingis expressed an intention to retire and returned all of the money.
The Warriors are currently $20.4 million over the luxury tax. Removing Porzingis’ salary would erase nearly all of that tax bill and drop them under the first apron, giving them more trade flexibility. It would not free up a major roster-building tool, however, and they could add only a player on a minimum contract through free agency.
The Warriors faced a similar situation two seasons ago. They signed De’Anthony Melton to a one-year, $12.8 million deal in July 2024, and he tore an ACL in early November and was ruled out for the season. Dunleavy responded by trading with the Brooklyn Nets for Dennis Schroder on Dec. 15, the first day Schroder was eligible to be traded. The deal cost the Warriors a net of two second-round picks. Schroder played 24 games for Golden State before being included in a deadline deal to acquire Butler.
A similar move could work now: use a minor asset to acquire a usable rotation player while keeping the expiring salary available for a bigger deal at the deadline. But under the new anti-tanking rules, no obvious trade partners are ready to give up a usable player for a minor asset, especially in late October. Dunleavy has already gauged the market, league sources said, but this is traditionally a quiet period. Front offices typically gather information about their rosters before making major decisions closer to January and February.
For now, the Warriors are willing to wait with the Porzingis contract and let the market develop, league sources said. If Porzingis agrees to give back a large portion of his salary in a buyout, his expiring $20 million deal could become more appealing to a future trade partner looking for financial benefit.
The plan in the meantime
Lendeborg’s immediate success has lifted the mood. The rookie wing scored 31 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and handed out six assists in a surprising blowout win in Denver on Monday night. He has 37 rebounds in four games. His power and size (6-foot-10, 241 pounds) allow the Warriors to play Green at center while still feeling bigger than their previous small-ball lineups.
Their current starting lineup of Lendeborg, Green, Curry, Brandin Podziemski and Gui Santos has outscored opponents by 22 points in a small early-season sample. Horford, limited to about 20 minutes per game and unable to play back-to-backs, has looked fresh in brief appearances.
Amid a semi-rebuild, the Warriors have shown more willingness to give young players opportunities in hopes of finding long-term contributors. Ike has started two of the first four games but can play only 50 games in total unless the Warriors convert his two-way contract into a full deal. Charles Bassey, a 25-year-old journeyman trying to stick with the Warriors after five previous stops, provides another big body off the bench.
“I love the attitude of this team,” Kerr said. “I love the energy, the spirit. I like our talent. Then I think our two young big guys are good players.”