An Absence With No Timeline
Kristaps Porzingis will not travel to Hawaii for Golden State’s training camp. General manager Mike Dunleavy confirmed Monday that the seven-foot-two center is out indefinitely with an undisclosed health issue, adding: “He was in last week, doing well and everything. I don’t have a timeline on it.”
Dunleavy has not ruled out a return for the October 21 season opener against the Lakers, but the uncertainty lands at an awkward moment. The Warriors just held their media day, and their season-long frontcourt plan now has a hole in it before a single practice has been run in Hawaii.
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A Player Golden State Can’t Easily Replace
Porzingis arrived in Golden State midseason via a trade from Atlanta and immediately became a rare frontcourt weapon: a seven-footer who stretches defenses from three-point range while still protecting the rim. Across 32 total games split between the two stops last season, he averaged 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 blocks, appearing in just 15 games for the Warriors themselves across 11 starts.
That injury history is the real concern here. Porzingis has never played a full, uninterrupted season since his rookie year over a decade ago, and Golden State built its roster around the bet that his health would finally cooperate.
Coach Kerr Stays Calm, For Now
Steve Kerr called the situation “surprising” but said he expects Porzingis back with the group eventually. Whether that happens before opening night against the Lakers is the question hanging over a Warriors camp that needed, more than anything else this year, a healthy center. Golden State has options on the roster if the absence stretches into October, but none of them replicate what a full-strength Porzingis brings on both ends of the floor.
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