The Golden State Warriors are struggling to cope with the absence of centre Kristaps Porzingis, who has stepped away from the team, and their 1-3 start has deepened uncertainty over their future. On opening night, Draymond Green, listed at 6-foot-6, started at centre for the Warriors despite the accumulated toll the position takes on his 36-year-old body.
The Warriors’ staff gave Green a physical reprieve two nights later against the Memphis Grizzlies’ jumbo front line. However, Al Horford, in his 20th season, could not play bigger minutes, so Golden State started Graham Ike, a two-way undrafted centre out of Gonzaga, in only his second career game.
That still left Green in the late deciding moments 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 eroded state of the Warriors’ centre position. “So we got to make it do what it do.”
Team sources say the Warriors believe a woe-is-me attitude about the schedule and injury misfortune contributed to their 37-45 finish a season ago. As a result, they have adopted a purposeful no-excuse approach this regular season.
That approach has meant an out-of-sight, out-of-mind strategy regarding the ongoing absence of presumed starting centre Porzingis, who was re-signed this summer despite missing 90 games over the past two seasons with three different teams. Shortly after Porzingis called out of work one day before training camp, the front office instructed head coach Steve Kerr to prepare the team as if Porzingis were a non-factor.
General manager Mike Dunleavy and lead medical decision maker Rick Celebrini are the only members of the staff who have communicated with Porzingis during his absence. Kerr has bristled at nearly every question about Porzingis 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 now looms large over the Warriors’ 1-3 start and their unclear path forward. On opening night, reports surfaced that the Warriors had begun exploring possible trade routes while Porzingis considers his basketball future. The same night, opposing centre Walker Kessler dunked 10 times, the most in a game by a Los Angeles Lakers centre since Shaquille O’Neal in 2003.
In the aftermath, the typically diplomatic Stephen Curry was asked about Porzingis’ indefinite absence and its impact on the team. “Aggggh,” Curry said, tapping the table as his frustration showed. “It’s a hard one for all reasons.”
Curry twice emphasised the human side of the situation, expressing sympathy for Porzingis, who has spoken publicly about the lingering effects he still feels after contracting an upper respiratory viral illness 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 [centre] 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 continue to express extreme pessimism that Porzingis will ever play for the Warriors again. Even so, his contract could still prove valuable in executing a trade. Only $3 million of it is guaranteed for next season.
How did Porzingis and the Warriors get here?
Porzingis’ current salary slot was created during the summer of 2025, amid one of the strangest restricted free agency standoffs in recent memory. Dunleavy and the Warriors were uneasy about committing long-term to Jonathan Kuminga, but felt he still held more value and upside than the sign-and-trade offers on the table.
The Warriors stood firm and eventually compromised with Kuminga on a two-year, $46.8 million deal. It included a team option and a requirement that Kuminga waive his implicit no-trade clause. The team hoped he would contribute, but its intentions were clear enough during negotiations that Kuminga’s side felt he was being turned into a human trade exception.
The Warriors traded his contract to Atlanta for Porzingis’ expiring $30.7 million deal in February. This move maintained their salary flexibility, and they believed they could manage Porzingis’ health well enough to get production from him.
The 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 gave the front office and medical staff enough confidence to approve a two-year, $40 million extension in late June for a player who expressed a desire to continue his NBA career.
Still, the Warriors built in protections for a move they knew carried major risk. They guaranteed only $3 million of the $20 million owed in the second season. They also structured the extension so Porzingis could be traded immediately, rather than waiting until 15 December.
Dunleavy and the Warriors believed Porzingis would be an available rotation piece for large 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.
Porzingis was working in the practice facility the week before training camp and attended Jimmy Butler’s player-led event in San Diego in late September. Optimism faded, however, as team sources in attendance described him as indifferent and uninterested in taking part in scrimmages and strenuous on-court preparation. Those sources viewed it as a clear warning sign.
What are the Warriors’ options with Porzingis?
Porzingis called Dunleavy and stepped away from the team on the eve of training camp, citing what the club considered a private health matter. The Warriors initially gave him space but expected him to return to the facility and be around his teammates and the medical staff, team sources said.
After a meeting with Celebrini and Dunleavy in early October, the team issued a statement saying he would be around. That did not last. Porzingis has not returned to the facility, and the organisation changed his official status from out with “general illness”, as it had listed during his absences last season, to “not with team”. That change was deliberate, and the absence can no longer be described as excused.
Porzingis’ refusal to be present at the facility could be deemed a failure to render his services. Sources say the organisation has raised this internally, and it could be used in an attempt to void his entire contract. That route would bring its own complications, however, unless Porzingis expressed an intention to retire and willingly returned all the money.
The Warriors are already $20.4 million into the luxury tax. Removing Porzingis’ salary would erase nearly all of that tax bill, bring them under the first apron and grant them more trade flexibility. It would not, however, free up a major roster-building tool. They would only be able to add 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, but he tore an ACL in early November and was ruled out for the season.
In response, Dunleavy arranged a trade with the Brooklyn Nets for Dennis Schröder, executed on the first day he was eligible to be traded, 15 December. It cost the Warriors a net of two second-round picks. Schröder played 24 games for Golden State before he was traded as part of a deadline deal to acquire Butler.
That approach would be the preferred route in the current Porzingis situation, using a minor asset to acquire a usable rotation player in the interim while keeping the flexibility to package that expiring salary for a larger move at the deadline.
However, under the new anti-tanking rules, there are no obvious trade partners willing to part with a usable player for a minor asset, especially in late October. Dunleavy has already gauged the trade market, league sources said, but this is traditionally a quiet period. Front offices typically gather information about their rosters before making bigger decisions closer to January and February.
For now, the Warriors are prepared to be patient with the Porzingis contract and let the market develop, league sources said. If Porzingis agrees to give back a large portion of his money in a buyout, his expiring $20 million deal could become more appealing to a trade partner seeking financial benefit.
What is the Warriors’ plan in the interim?
Lendeborg’s immediate success has lifted the mood and eased some concern around the Warriors. The rookie wing scored 31 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and handed out six assists in a surprising blowout win in Denver on Monday night.
At 6-foot-10 and 241 pounds, Lendeborg’s power and size have allowed the Warriors to play Green at centre and still feel bigger than in their previous small-ball lineups. Lendeborg has collected 37 rebounds in four games.
Their current starting lineup of Lendeborg, Green, Curry, Brandin Podziemski and Gui Santos has a plus-22 rating over a small early-season sample. Horford, limited to around 20 minutes per game and unable to play back-to-backs, has looked fresh in brief spells.
Amid a semi-rebuild, the Warriors have shown a greater willingness to give opportunities to their young players, hoping to unearth some gems and improve their long-term outlook.
Ike has started two of the first four games, but he will be limited to 50 games in total unless the Warriors convert his two-way contract into a full deal. Charles Bassey, a 25-year-old journeyman attempting to establish himself 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.”