Steve Kerr has revealed that Kristaps Porzingis will return to the Golden State Warriors facility on Tuesday, suggesting a step forward as the veteran center deals with an illness that's kept him away from the team to this point of training camp and preseason.
Yet Kerr's latest statement on Porzingis also brings a word of caution, with still no timeline on the Latvian's return to the floor as the head coach makes alternative plans for the Warriors' starting lineup come opening night against the Los Angeles Lakers in just over a week.
Warriors' Kristaps Porzingis update still comes with pessimism
Porzingis returning to the Golden State facility has to be some kind of positive, but the overall outlook on the former All-Star is still quite pessimistic after the franchise extended him on a two-year, $40 million contract (only $3 million guaranteed in 2027-28) prior to free agency.
Many fans are already questioning why Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the Warriors front office took that gamble, even with the potential of the 31-year-old being used as effectively an expiring contract before February's mid-season trade deadline.
Kerr also confirmed that he's leaning towards his starting lineup for opening night — the same one we've seen in two of the last three games featuring Gui Santos, Yaxel Lendeborg and Draymond Green in the frontcourt, along with Stephen Curry and Brandin Podziemski as the two guards.
That all but rules Porzingis out from playing on opening night which is not overly surprising given his absence from the team. Golden State went with Al Horford as their starting center in the preseason opener against the L.A. Clippers, but have since gone smaller as they look to manage the 40-year-old's minutes off the bench.
Warriors have challenge of re-integrating Kristaps Porzingis
The other issue with Porzingis' current illness is that it means the Warriors will now have to try and reintegrate him during the season, making it more difficult to try and build the chemistry and continuity they've often struggled to find in recent seasons?
What happens if Golden State really find something with this smaller starting lineup? Does Porzingis then become a bench player even when healthy, or does Kerr take the risk of changing things up with a player who hasn't practiced with the team through training camp and preseason?
This is a difficult situation for the Warriors and one that, even with the update on his return to the facility, doesn't provide much optimism among fans of the team getting what they need out of Porzingis this season.
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