One of the season's biggest storylines for the Golden State Warriors has been Kristaps Porzingis's availability. Over the offseason, Porzingis signed a two-year, $40 million extension after the Warriors acquired him from the Atlanta Hawks at last season's trade deadline, but he hasn't suited up for Golden State this season, leaving the front office trying to figure out how to maximize his contract.
Porzingis has been dealing with a private health issue that took him away from training camp and left him unable to suit up this season; the private health issue appears to stem from an upper respiratory viral illness that he contracted during his time with the Boston Celtics.
ClutchPoints senior NBA reporter Brett Siegel spotlighted Porzingis' absence last week.
“Although Porzingis' injury troubles and his battle with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) were well known throughout the organization, the Warriors believed they could find a way to get the Latvian big man on the floor. For a period of time, this was true, and Porzingis looked like a significant contributor at the end of the 2025-26 season…having Porzingis sidelined means that the Warriors have roughly $90 million out right now, or for those who like percentages, about 40% of their total team payroll.”
Building on Siegel's salary-cap point about Porzingis' lack of availability, ESPN Golden State Warriors reporter Anthony Slater recently published a report on the Warriors' early-season struggles, laying out an interesting path to potentially void Porzingis' contract. Slater reported that the Warriors tried to reassure fans after a front-office meeting, but the situation has since changed.
“After a meeting with Celebrini and Dunleavy in early October, the team sent out a statement declaring he would be around. It didn’t last.”
He then pointed to a change in how the team lists Porzingis’s status, which he described as intentional.
“Porzingis hasn’t returned to the facility and the organization shifted his official status from out with ‘general illness’ (as they’d listed during his absences last season) to ‘not with team,’ a purposeful change. This can no longer be described as an excused absence for the center.”
Slater went on to explain why that shift matters for the team’s options regarding the contract.
Article Continues Below“Porzingis’ unwillingness to be present at the Warriors’ facility could be deemed a failure to render his services — a reality that has been raised internally, sources said — and could be used in an attempt to void his entire contract.”
But voiding the contract would not be a simple endeavor.
“But that would present its own complications, unless Porzingis expressed an intention to retire and willingly gave all the money back.”