The Warriors Have Begun Exploring Kristaps Porzingis Trades Because Of His Health Issues And The Very Real Possibility That He Straight Up Retires

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As the Warriors begin their season tonight against the Lakers, they'll be doing so without the basketball services of Kristaps Porzingis. That's not a surprise considering the latest update we got around his availability was that nobody had any idea what was going on with his health other than him letting us know he doesn't have HIV or AIDS (still insane that happened btw)

The whole thing sounds pretty scary, and I do hope KP gets things figured out. Forget the basketball stuff, this is bleeding into real life stuff, which obviously matters more. 

But as we know, the NBA is a business. For the Warriors and their front office, they do have to worry about the basketball stuff. The gave KP that extension with the idea that he was going to be an important piece of their puzzle. If that's suddenly not on the table, then what happens?

The answer? Apparently, try to flip him

Porzingis is on a trade-flexible contract for $20 million this season and a small partial next year, serving as essentially an expiring deal that the Warriors can utilize, potentially with their pool of assets. He first revealed his POTS diagnosis last year and has had ups and downs with the issue. If there is no breakthrough in recovery, stepping away from basketball -- for good -- is possible.

Uhhhh WOAH. 

In the 2027-28 season, KP technically has a $20M player option, but only $3M of that is guaranteed if he's on the roster on 6/27. It doesn't become fully guaranteed unless he's on the roster following 7/7. So essentially, that player option year is easy to get out of should there be a market. 

But with the possibilty that KP could retire and walk away completely, what even is his market? I suppose if you're looking for the cap flexibility and you don't really need him as a player you may put in some calls, but what type of assets is a team going to give the Warriors for this player? Even if he continues to play, it's obvious this issue is going to be a thing moving forward, so what are you willing to send in a trade knowing there's no idea how much KP will even play for you?

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Again, I can't stress enough how crazy this entire thing is. A few weeks before the playoffs in 2025, this was Porzingis

He looked awesome. Since then? It's been a disaster. A shell of himself during the Celts 2025 run, then he came back last year and looked OK in spots with the Warriors when available

and now he's on the brink of potentially retiring? It all doesn't even seem real, yet here we are. Is it maybe a little scummy that the Warriors are now trying to flip a player dealing with something serious? I bet some will think that. Then again, it's their job to do stuff like this and they have a responsibility to do whatever they can to maximize Steph's final years. You could argue that perhaps this should have happened over the summer and they should have spent money elsewhere instead of extending KP, but that's the thing about this mystery illness. I'm sure they thought he was past it, but he's clearly still dealing with serious issues, so they have to try and pivot. It sucks, but that's sports. 

So where do we think he goes? Will anyone bite and take a swing that maybe things can be resolved over the course of the season? Or, do we think KP walks away for good? I'm starting to lean towards retire, which is crazy to think about given where we were 24 months ago.