Part of the appeal of Kristaps Porzingis as a trade target was for the Golden State Warriors was to find a matchup for some of the behemoths in the Western Conference, starting at the top with the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.
While Porzingis now deals with another illness that is almost certain to see him miss the start of the season, the Thunder have unleashed another giant in Aday Mara who has been one of the storylines of preseason across the league to date.
Warriors need Kristaps Porzingis return to throw size at Thunder and Spurs
Mara was taken at 12 by Oklahoma City after Golden State selected his Michigan championship teammate Yaxel Lendeborg with the 11th pick at June's NBA Draft. The Warriors won’t be regretting that pick given Lendeborg’s own impressive form, but the Thunder now appear to have another weapon on both ends of the floor.
After an underwhelming summer league campaign, Mara has been extraordinary through Oklahoma City’s three preseason games. He added 17 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and five blocks on Monday night against the Atlanta Hawks, taking his averages to 17.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.7 blocks on 79.2% shooting from the floor.
With Mara joining the likes of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, the Thunder have an even more imposing big man rotation for opposing teams to deal with. Oh, and the Western Conference champion Spurs have someone called Victor Wembanyama who many have as favorite to win MVP this season.
The conference race also includes a certain three-time MVP in Nikola Jokic, along with a number of other notable big men who the Warriors will face on a near nightly basis. They hoped Porzingis would be the answer, yet there's serious doubt on just how much he'll be available.
Kristaps Porzingis is Warriors’ only form of legitimate size
The Warriors simply don’t have another option to match up with these players outside Porzingis. Without the 7’3” big man, Golden State are likely to burden a 36-year-old, 6’6” Draymond Green with such challenges, something he simply shouldn’t be tasked with at this point of his career.
Al Horford also shouldn’t be forced with these battles as a 40-year-old who’s only 6’9”, while Charles Bassey is still largely unproven in terms of being able to provide quality minutes against big name opponents.
As much as the Warriors need Porzingis back to spark their offense with his scoring from all three levels, his ability to go toe-to-toe with seven-footers around the league is another reason they’re desperate to see him back on the floor sooner rather than later.
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