Warriors rumors: Insider delivers harsh reality of Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford

The Golden State Warriors had a season that not many expected, given the expectations. The team finished with a 37-45 record, good for 10th in the Western Conference. They managed to nab the final play-in spot, beating the LA Clippers in the first play-in game, but were eliminated from playoff contention by the Phoenix Suns in the final play-in game.

The Warriors were beset by injuries, losing Jimmy Butler for the season in January and also missing time from Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Al Horford. The Warriors acquired Kristaps Porziņģis from Atlanta in the Jonathan Kuminga trade, but Porziņģis also struggled to see the court for the Warriors in the final stretch of the season, as they also lost Moses Moody to a season-ending injury.

In a recent article for the San Francisco Standard, Tim Kawakami laid out the harsh reality for the Warriors amid their aging roster.

“The Warriors didn’t load up their roster with recently wounded players on purpose. It just worked out that way — and, as Kerr emphasized on Friday — the five or six guys who couldn’t play back-to-backs or needed week-long breaks here or there just locked up most of the Warriors’ day-to-day lineup decisions. Also, Butler and Moody will count on the roster but won’t be playing for a while next season. So the other 13 spots shouldn’t and can’t be filled with players likely to miss a lot of time.”

He also details a conundrum for the Warriors’ front office: they have to decide between re-signing Kristaps Porziņģis and Al Horford, arguing that they can’t keep both, while also trying to figure out how to keep other key role players.

“In this environment, I don’t see how the Warriors can bring back both Kristaps Porzingis (unrestricted free agent) and Al Horford (player option for next season), even if both are interested in returning. I think they’re not likely to bid too high if De’Anthony Melton declines his player option. And I don’t see much chance of using up a roster spot for Seth Curry again.”

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