The Golden State Warriors departed for their training camp in Hawaii without one of their important but unavailable starters. Veteran center and 2024 NBA champion Kristaps Porzingis remains sidelined indefinitely with a lingering health issue. Speaking with reporters, head coach Steve Kerr addressed the uncertainty surrounding the big man’s status while emphasizing the organization’s commitment to supporting him through his recovery.
When asked if he had received any fresh updates on Porzingis, Kerr admitted that there had been no new developments on the first day in Hawaii.
“No, nothing today,” said Kerr (via ESPN’s Anthony Slater on X). “You know, when I talked to Mike yesterday and the night before, and he made it pretty clear that, you know, we’re just going to support Kristaps every way that we can, and it’ll just be a situation where we got to do our work. We got to come here and have a great training camp, and whenever he’s ready, he’s ready.”
Reporters pushed Kerr on whether he remained hopeful for Porzingis to rejoin the squad upon their return from Hawaii, pointing to GM Mike Dunleavy Jr.’s refusal to officially rule him out when he said, “I’m not marking him down as being out to start the season or anything like that. He’s just not available this week,” a day earlier.
“Honestly, I just look at it as day to day,” Kerr said. “And we’re supporting him in every way that we can with our performance staff, our training staff, doctors, and hopefully things can improve quickly and we can get him back.”
The conversation turned candid when Kerr was asked whether members of the Warriors’ medical staff remained behind in San Francisco with the 7’2 center.
“That’s a good question,” Kerr admitted. “You know, most of our training staff is here [in Hawaii]. So… it’s actually something I need to look into.”
The news about Porzingis’ absence broke during Media Day, shifting the mood just as the Warriors team and staff prepared to board their flight to Hawaii. Dunleavy opened the morning by announcing that Kristaps Porzingis would miss the start of camp due to an undisclosed health matter that the team learned about only a day prior.
Porzingis, who previously managed symptoms related to Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and viral illnesses over recent seasons, was fully cleared for workouts just a week earlier before this setback was reported.
Kerr had watched “The Unicorn” in recent workouts, so finding out he was missing camp “came as a surprise” for Kerr.
“But we’ll deal with it and move forward,” the Warriors HC said.
The timing presents tactical hurdles for Kerr, who had planned to build a modernized five-out offense featuring Porzingis alongside Draymond Green to maximize court spacing.
“KP and Al [Horford] have really provided us that spacing at that spot,” Kerr explained regarding the team’s frontcourt setup on Monday’s media availability. “That’s important if you are playing the more modern style that we’re looking at. So we know we’re going to need Kristaps, and we feel very confident that we’ll have him at some point. Al, of course, he’s ready to go, and he’ll provide that as well.”
With Porzingis unavailable and star forward Jimmy Butler and guard Moses Moody continuing their respective rehabs from knee injuries, veteran center Al Horford is expected to anchor the frontcourt starting unit. Additionally, young contributors like Yaxel Lendeborg, Brandin Podziemski, and third-string center Charles Bassey will face expanded responsibilities to balance the workload around Stephen Curry as training camp gets underway in Hawaii.
Regardless of the backup options, it does appear that Kerr is counting on Porzingis’ return to lead the starting unit under the post.