Kristaps Porzingis holds some leverage over the Golden State Warriors entering free agency, not just because of their uncertain center situation, but also because of the disastrous alternative stemming from his acquisition forJonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield at February's trade deadline.
Some may be thinking that even if the Warriors lose Porzingis, they'll be able to salvage something by executing a sign-and-trade. Perhaps that sign-and-trade could even yield a roster upgrade? Wrong. CBA rules mean it's highly unlikely Porzingis is involved in a sign-and-trade once free agency gets underway.
Warriors highly unlikely to find Kristaps Porzingis sign-and-trade
CBA rules dictate that a player must get a three or four-year contract in order for a sign-and-trade to be possible. Take the six-team sign-and-trade that saw Klay Thompson depart Golden State in 2024 as an example: Thompson got a three-year deal from the Dallas Mavericks, while Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield joined the Warriors on three and four-year contracts respectively.
No one is giving Porzingis a three-year contract this offseason given his injury and health concerns, unless for some reason the veteran center is willing to take less than $10 million annually -- which he won't.
Porzingis is already coming off only a two-year extension that he signed initially with the Boston Celtics, and that's before he was limited to just 32 combined regular season games this year -- 15 with Golden State after the trade.
The Warriors either re-sign Porzingis or lose him for nothing. Imagine the scrutiny of having essentially salary dumped a former seventh overall pick in Kuminga, not to mention losing the $20+ million salary slot? The Golden State front office simply can't afford that, and if Porzingis and his camp are smart, they'll utilize that as leverage for a bigger deal.
Warriors may need to give Kristaps Porzingis an inflated deal
Rather than letting him simply walk in free agency, Golden State would be far better off giving Porzingis an inflated one-year contract that exceeds $20 million, even if they acknowledge it's 'overs' based on his injury and health history.
At least that will give the Warriors the flexibility to see how Porzingis performs early next season, and if things aren't working out they could use the deal as an expiring on the trade market, potentially packaging it with other contracts and/or future draft capital for a legitimate upgrade.
The Warriors can't ignore the multiple downsides of letting Porzingis walk in free agency, making his re-signing a major priority for the franchise as they look to re-tool the roster for a deep playoff run.
Add us as a preferred source on Google