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By Jayesh Pagar
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When the Golden State Warriors traded for Kristaps Porzingis in February, the plan was simple.
Put a 7-foot-2 big man who can shoot and block shots next to Stephen Curry.
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Nine months later, that plan looks very different. Porzingis has not played a minute this season. Now a new update has left Dub Nation with more questions than answers.
In a report on The Stein Line, Marc Stein’s Substack, Jake Fischer compared the situation to one Philadelphia 76ers fans know all too well.
“It’s a situation similar, I’m told, to when Philadelphia withheld Ben Simmons’ salary while the Sixers’ then-point guard did not report to training camp at the start of the 2021-22 season. Yet a key difference is that Porziņģis, unlike Simmons, has not demanded to be traded. It’s also believed that Porziņģis is strongly contemplating retirement,” Fischer wrote.
The salary part is already happening. ESPN’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater reported that Golden State has stopped paying Porzingis’ $20 million salary, ruling he is not rendering services. Porzingis is not disputing it.
It started on the eve of training camp, when he called GM Mike Dunleavy and stepped away. The Warriors expected him back around the team. He never came back, and his status changed to not with the team.
Health has been the real fight. Porzingis has dealt with POTS, which has cost him long stretches over the past two seasons. He played just 15 games for Golden State last season, averaging 16.1 points and 5.3 rebounds.
The Warriors still gave him a two-year, $40 million deal this summer, with only $3 million guaranteed next season. Now they want to flip him before the Feb. 11 trade deadline for someone who can help right now.
The team has won five straight without him. Still, for fans who pictured Porzingis next to Curry in May, this one hurts.
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