Despite only being acquired from the Atlanta Hawks at February's mid-season trade deadline, Kristaps Porzingis' time with the Golden State Warriors may come to an end in free agency this summer.
According to Warriors insider Tim Kawakami, the franchise could look to trade Porzingis rather than re-sign the veteran center. However, there's a major flaw in that potential plan, with Porzingis unlikely to command a three or four-year contract that would constitute a sign-and-trade.
Warriors plan with Kristaps Porzingis comes with major flaw
Speaking on the Warriors Plus Minus podcast after press conferences from Steve Kerr and Mike Dunleavy Jr. on Friday, Kawakami suggested the front office could look to move Porzingis for one, maybe even two younger, more athletic players.
"He's (Porzingis) much more to me, much more likely to be traded to a team that wants to pay him more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, more than $15 million. So you trade him for a young, kind of athletic player or two of them, and he signs with a new team for $25 million a year," Kawakami said.
The problem with that is not only finding a team that would offer Porzingis $25 million annually, but also on a three or four-year deal that would edge the contract up near $100 million for an injury-prone nearly 31-year-old.
That seems not only unlikely, but genuinely impossible considering Porzingis appeared in just 32 combined regular season games with the Warriors and Hawks, while also playing more than 65 games just once in the past nine years.
Who out there is that desperate for a stretch big who, while still a good player when healthy, isn't some sort of multi-time All-Star? It's hard to see Porzingis get a three-year deal, unless it's at less than $15 million per year by which point Golden State may be better off just re-signing him themselves.
Warriors must find replacement center if Kristaps Porzingis leaves
It's all well and good for the Warriors to say they need to go younger and have players capable of being more available, but they still need to find a starting-level center on a veteran team hoping to contend for a deep playoff run.
Acquiring such a player could prove incredibly difficult, especially if it can't be done in a Porzingis sign-and-trade. Perhaps Golden State could target Michigan big man Aday Mara with the 11th overall pick, but they surely wouldn't put so much faith in a rookie big man, and that's if the 7'3" center actually falls to them at all.
This could prove a real dilemma for the Warriors. Sure, it would be far easier if a team is willing to give Porzingis a three-year contract that makes a sign-and-trade possible, they just shouldn't bank on that proving the case.
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