Kristaps Porzingis' injury and health history has already raised plenty of fears among Golden State Warriors fans, but the franchise has already moved to address those in the wake of Wednesday's bombshell trade.
According to ESPN's Anthony Slater, the Warriors are anticipating Porzingis to be available shortly after his arrival to the team despite having only played 17 games with the Atlanta Hawks so far this season.
Warriors believe Kristaps Porzingis will feature soon despite health concerns
After getting an indication that the Milwaukee Bucks weren't interested in their offer for 2x MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Golden State pivoted to trade Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield for Porzingis on Wednesday night.
Porzingis has played more than 57 games just once in the last decade, and hasn't played since January 7, but the Warriors are hoping to have him suit up imminently following the trade.
"The Warriors hope to get Porzingis back healthy and productive for the stretch run. He hasn't played since Jan. 7, but team sources said they anticipate Porzingis will make his return soon after joining Golden State. The Warriors are 27-24 and currently eighth in the Western Conference," Slater wrote.
It's worth noting that after missing 12-straight games due to achilles tendinitis, Porzingis was initially listed as available to play in Atlanta's 127-115 victory over the Miami Heat on Tuesday, before being a late out due to illness.
While the achilles issue is a concern, the bigger issue may be Porzingis' health after he was diagnosed with an illness (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) while with the Boston Celtics last season.
Porzingis has remained a productive player when on the floor, he just hasn't been on the floor anywhere near enough. The 30-year-old averaged 17.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 blocks in less than 25 minutes per game with the Hawks this season, while posting 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in his 42 games with the Celtics last campaign.
If he can get back on the floor, Porzingis will assuredly become Golden State's starting center as a rim protecting big man who can stretch the floor on the offensive end. He's theoretically a nice fit with Draymond Green in the front court, but again, much of Porzingis is theoretical rather than reality given his injury history.
Hopefully a change of scenery brings a change of fortune for the former fourth overall pick, not that it's done him much good for him previously in the past decade outside of winning a championship with the Celtics in 2024.