The Golden State Warriors' move to bring back Kristaps Porzingis looks like a savvy one on face value, but it will only become fully maximized if the franchise can also land LeBron James in free agency.
With Jimmy Butler sidelined as he recovers from a torn ACL, the Warriors remain reliant on Porzingis in a way that's problematic given his own medical history. However, acquiring James would reduce that reliance, putting the veteran center into more of a complimentary (but still important) piece akin to his two-year stint with the Boston Celtics.
Kristaps Porzingis move looks better if Warriors sign LeBron James
Without Butler, Porzingis currently appears the second go-to scorer on the roster. For a team that ranked 19th on that end last season, putting so much weight on a 38-year-old Stephen Curry, and an incredibly injury-prone Porzingis, is fraught with danger.
While adding a 41-year-old James would only add to the aging nature of Golden State, it would push Porzingis down to be the third option, and as a result the team would be far better able to manage his absence when it inevitably occurs.
The Warriors would also be less reliant on the 31-year-old when he's actually on the court. Suddenly instead of needing 25-30 point outings on a regular basis, they could do with 16-18 points and still be in position to win games.
At this stage of his career, Porzingis should be viewed as more of a luxury and the icing on the cake, rather than someone who simply has to be a key ingredient for a team to be competitive. That presents it's challenges, but one that can be overcome by landing James.
Warriors need to try and find 2023-24 version of Porzingis
The best possible outcome for Golden State would be finding the 2023-24 version of Porzingis when he was the third-leading scorer on the Celtics behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. He appeared in 57 games and averaged nearly 30 minutes, posting 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks on an efficient 51.6% shooting from the floor and 37.5% from 3-point range.
Given the still uncertain nature of Porzingis' health battles, perhaps this is just an unrealistic hope and it shouldn't be necessarily the expectation, rather a best-case scenario if Rick Celelbrini and the medical staff can work their magic.
Either way, Porzingis makes far more sense as a third or even fourth offensive option at this stage of his career, something the Warriors can grant if James chooses to head their way.
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