Kristaps Porzingis ‘optimistic’ about his new Warriors opportunity

LOS ANGELES – The Golden State Warriors formally introduced trade deadline acquisition Kristaps Porzingis ahead of Saturday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers. The championship-winning stretch five expressed his excitement for the new opportunity in the Bay Area.

“Excited as always, you know, especially once I found out where I’m going,” Porzingis said. “Then also like, Al is here, you know, like, and always like the fan base here, pretty strong fan base from the outside. And I thought it would be an exciting opportunity.”

The Warriors acquired Porzingis from the Atlanta Hawks on the eve of the trade deadline, sending out Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield in the process.

In 17 games with the Hawks this season, Porzingis has averaged 17.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 36.0% from 3-point range. The Warriors pivoted to Porzingis after striking out on the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, seeking his size, 3-point shooting, and rim protection.

Kristaps Porzingis addresses health question marks

However, whether the Warriors will cash in on those things is a huge question mark as Porzingis’ availability has been sparse the past two seasons. With an assortment of lower-body injuries and multiple bouts with POTS, the Dubs are taking a risk relying on Porzingis to give them some juice in the wake of Jimmy Butler’s season-ending ACL injury.

But Porzingis is confident he’ll be able to contribute for Golden State, despite the health concerns.

“I’m confident that I will. I’m confident that I will,” Porzingis repeated when the topic of his health was broached. “It’s just – I will do everything right, and I believe I will… I think it’s a great, great opportunity to turn a new page, from what I’ve seen. And the conversations I’ve had so far with the medical staff here and the people that work here, I have to say I’m very surprised and very optimistic, that I’m in really good hands, if not some of the best hands.”

The current plan for Porzingis, according to Steve Kerr, is to debut him after the All-Star break, giving him ample time with Rick Celebrini and the Warriors’ training staff to get his lingering Achilles tendinitis right. Both Kerr and general manager Mike Dunleavy have expressed confidence in Porzingis’s health, with Kerr saying they would not have made that trade if they didn’t think he could be healthy.

As for Dunleavy, he sees Porzingis’ health situation as not too different from Kuminga’s, hence the willingness to take on the risk.

“We’re sending out, you know, a player in a similar boat who struggled to stay on the floor,” Dunleavy said. “So I think, from our standpoint, we recognize the risk, but you know, it’s a risk we’re willing to take.”

Kristaps Porzingis’ fit next to Stephen Curry, Draymond Green

Porzingis also detailed the brief conversations he has had since meeting the team in Los Angeles. He has a history with Al Horford from their Boston days and knows Gui Santos from some battles overseas. Porzingis also mentioned how Draymond Green is a guy who knows his tendencies, which makes him relieved to have him on his team for once. But Porzingis primarily expressed his excitement to play next to Stephen Curry.

“I’ve been a huge fan of Steph for a long time,” Porzingis said. “He knows this. I always try to say what’s up to him after the game. Just watching him outside, he’s unreal. So to play alongside somebody like that will be really cool. And I think it brings a level up for everybody when you have somebody like that on your team.”

Curry and Porzingis were chopping it up for a long time after the game in the locker room, with both players smiling and laughing at the conversation they were having.

The expectation is to hopefully have both of those guys at full health post-All-Star break. From there, it will be a 28-game sprint to the finish line, similar to last season, as Golden State hopes to climb from the eighth seed in the West. Regardless, Porzingis and the Warriors are optimistic about their new partnership.

“I look forward to really having a surprisingly good post-All-Star break.”

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