The Golden State Warriors are off to a 1-3 start, and their path forward is clouded by the unexplained absence of center Kristaps Porzingis, who has not returned to the team facility since calling Mike Dunleavy on the eve of training camp. The team has treated him as a nonfactor, and the front office is weighing whether his contract can be used in a trade.
The Warriors’ early struggles began on opening night of Draymond Green’s 15th NBA season. Green, generously listed at 6-foot-6, started at center despite the organization’s understanding of the toll that position takes on his 36-year-old body. Two nights later, against the Memphis Grizzlies’ jumbo front line, the staff gave him a physical reprieve. Al Horford, in his 20th season, could not handle bigger minutes, so Golden State started Graham Ike, a two-way undrafted center out of Gonzaga, in his second career game.
Green still ended up in the late moments of a close game, trying to box out 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’ center position. “So we got to make it do what it do.”
Team sources say the Warriors believe part of the reason for their 37-45 finish a season ago was a woe-is-me attitude about the schedule and injuries. This season, they have adopted a purposeful no-excuse approach.
Porzingis’ unexplained absence
That approach has meant an out-of-sight, out-of-mind strategy for Porzingis, the presumed starting center. The Warriors re-signed him this summer despite his missing 90 games over the past two seasons with three different teams. Ever since he stayed away one day before training camp, the front office has instructed Steve Kerr to strategize and prepare the team as if Porzingis were not part of the picture.
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 make a $20 million commitment to Porzingis this offseason looms large over the team’s 1-3 start and its murky future. On opening night, the same day reports surfaced that the Warriors had begun exploring trade options, opposing center Walker Kessler dunked 10 times on them. That was the most in a game by a Los Angeles Lakers center since Shaquille O’Neal in 2003.
In the aftermath, Stephen Curry was asked about Porzingis’ indefinite absence and its impact on the team.
“Aggggh,” Curry said, tapping on the table as his frustration showed. “It’s a hard one for all reasons.”
Curry twice emphasized the human component, expressing sympathy for Porzingis, who has publicly described lingering effects from 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 continue to express extreme pessimism that Porzingis will ever play for the Warriors again. However, his contract, which is guaranteed for only $3 million next season, could still prove valuable in executing a trade.
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.
So they held 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 Warriors hoped he would contribute, but they made their motives clear enough during negotiations that 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 contract. That move preserved salary flexibility, and the team believed it could manage Porzingis’ health well enough to get production from him.
It 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 said he wanted 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 instead of waiting until Dec. 15.
Dunleavy and the Warriors believed Porzingis would be an available rotation piece for stretches of the schedule, not just a tradable contract. Before camp, the coaching staff buzzed about the intriguing possibilities of a front line featuring Yaxel Lendeborg, Green and Porzingis.
Porzingis was in the practice facility getting court work the week before training camp, and he attended Jimmy Butler’s player-led event in San Diego in late September. Optimism faded there, however. Team sources in attendance described him as indifferent and uninterested in taking part in scrimmages and strenuous on-court work, 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 deemed 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.
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 organization changed his official status from out with “general illness,” as it had listed him during his absences last season, to “not with team.” That change was deliberate, and the absence can no longer be described as excused.
Internally, the team has raised the possibility that Porzingis’ refusal to be present at the facility could be deemed a failure to render his services. Sources say that could be used in an attempt to void his entire contract. However, that would create its own complications, unless Porzingis expressed an intention to retire and willingly returned all the money.
The Warriors are currently $20.4 million into the luxury tax. Wiping out Porzingis’ salary would erase nearly all of that tax bill and drop them below the first apron, which would give them more trade flexibility. It would not free up a major roster-building tool, though. 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, but he tore an ACL in early November and was ruled out for the season. Dunleavy responded by arranging a trade with the Brooklyn Nets for Dennis Schroder, executed on the first day Schroder was eligible to be traded (Dec. 15). The move cost them a net of two second-round picks. Schroder played 24 games for Golden State before being traded as part of a deadline deal to acquire Butler.
That could be a preferred route again: using a minor asset to acquire a usable rotation player for the short term while keeping the expiring salary available for a bigger move at the deadline.
Under the new anti-tanking rules, however, there are no obvious trade partners ready to give up 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 usually focus on gathering information about their rosters before making bigger decisions closer to January and February.
For now, the Warriors are willing to be patient with the Porzingis contract and let the market develop, league sources said. If Porzingis agreed to give back a large portion of his money in a buyout, his expiring $20 million deal could become even more appealing to a trade partner looking for financial benefit.
What is the Warriors’ plan in the interim?
Lendeborg’s immediate success has brightened the mood and eased some concern around the team. The rookie wing scored 31 points with 12 rebounds and 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) let the Warriors 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 is a plus-22 in a small early-season sample. Horford, limited to around 20 minutes per game and unable to play back-to-back games, has looked fresh in brief doses.
While going through a semi-rebuild, the Warriors have shown more willingness to give young players opportunities in hopes of finding gems and improving their long-term outlook. Ike has started two of the first four games, but he will be limited to 50 games total unless the Warriors convert his two-way contract into a full deal. Charles Bassey, a 25-year-old journeyman trying to catch on with his fifth-plus organization, 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.”