Phoenix – The Golden State Warriors Expect their latest addition, the Experience Center kristaps porzingisThe team is scheduled to meet in Los Angeles on Friday night before Saturday night’s game against Los Angeles Lakers.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr expressed doubt that Porzingis would get medical clearance to return to the Lakers game, but anticipated that Porzingis would soon be back on the court and in a key rotation spot.
“I don’t think we would have made the trade if we didn’t think he could be healthy and consistent in terms of being in the lineup,” Kerr said. “That’s the plan.”
Porzingis has been limited to 17 games this season due to the persistent effects of a lingering illness (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) and some recent left Achilles tendinitis.
But Kerr said Warriors chief medical decision-maker Rick Celebrini and his staff already did their “due diligence” on Porzingis and greenlighted the move with confidence that Porzingis will be back soon.
“When he’s right, he’s a helluva player,” Kerr said. “You’re looking at a guy who really fits our needs – size, spacing, shooting, rim protection. Every team needs that, but since we’ve been here we’ve always needed that. We’ve never had a player like him.”
Stephen Curry He said he was excited to have a healthy Porzingis on the court for the Warriors.
“I’m just hoping that first and foremost he stays healthy so he can do everything he can,” Curry said. “That and Al [Horford] won the championship together [in Boston]. “Different contexts, but the familiarity and skill-set and idea of size and presence we’ve been looking for for a while.”
Warriors take lead in chase by trade deadline milwaukee bucks supper star giannis antetokounmpo But when the Bucks made it clear their offer wasn’t enough to lure him away, they were forced to back out.
This attracted them to Porzingis, a player they had wanted since their Boston days and had been on their deadline radar since the beginning of January due to his $30.7 million contract expiring.
Porzingis was initially part of the discussions between the two atlanta hawks And dallas mavericks in a deal that would have been sent anthony davis To the Hawks, league sources said. The idea was to have a three-team team including the Warriors that was to be sent Jonathan Kuminga to Dallas and sent Porzingis to the Warriors, but it never came to fruition after Davis suffered a hand injury.
In the hours before the deadline, the Warriors and Hawks made a two-team deal, sending Kuminga and buddy heald Atlanta for Porzingis. No selections were exchanged.
Porzingis joins a 28-24 Warriors team that is currently ranked eighth in the Western Conference and is still dealing with Jimmy Butler’s recent ACL tear.
“We still have a good team,” Kerr said. “A very good team. Even without Jimmy, we can make the playoffs. The ceiling is rock bottom. I’m not going to sit here and lie.”
