Draymond Green started at centre on opening night of his 15th NBA season, but the Golden State Warriors’ bigger problem is the absence of starting centre Kristaps Porzingis, who has not been with the team since the eve of training camp. The Warriors are 1-3 and have begun exploring trade options for the $20 million player.
Green, generously listed at 6-foot-6 and 36 years old, was slotted as the starting centre despite the organisation’s understanding of the toll that position takes on his body. The Warriors gave him a physical reprieve two nights later against the Memphis Grizzlies’ jumbo front line. But Al Horford, in his 20th season, could not play bigger minutes, so Golden State started Graham Ike, a two-way undrafted centre out of Gonzaga, in only his second career game.
Green still ended up defending 7-foot-4 Zach Edey in the late stages of a game the Warriors had led by 12 points. After failing to wall off Edey on a defensive rebound, Green committed a crucial frustration foul as Golden State blew the lead and fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2020-21.
“We got what we got,” Green said when asked about the eroded state of the Warriors’ centre position. “So we got to make it do what it do.”
Team sources say the Warriors felt a woe-is-me attitude about the schedule and injuries contributed to their 37-45 record a season ago. This season, they have taken a deliberate no-excuses approach, which has meant an out-of-sight, out-of-mind strategy regarding Porzingis. The front office instructed head coach Steve Kerr to prepare the team as if Porzingis were not a factor. General manager Mike Dunleavy and lead medical decision maker Rick Celebrini are the only staff members who have communicated with Porzingis during his absence. Kerr has bristled at nearly every question about Porzingis in recent weeks.
“I don’t know,” Kerr said when asked for a recent update. “I don’t really have anything else to add on this.”
Porzingis’s absence clouds the start
The decision to commit $20 million to Porzingis this offseason looms large over the Warriors’ 1-3 start and their uncertain path forward. Porzingis was re-signed despite missing 90 games over the past two seasons with three different teams. On opening night, the same day reports emerged that the Warriors were exploring trade routes, opposing centre Walker Kessler dunked 10 times. That was the most dunks in a game by a Los Angeles Lakers centre since Shaquille O’Neal in 2003.
After the game, Stephen Curry was asked about Porzingis’s indefinite absence and its impact on the team. “Aggggh,” Curry said, tapping the table as his frustration showed. “It’s a hard one for all reasons.”
Curry twice emphasised the human side of the situation and expressed sympathy for Porzingis, who has spoken publicly about lingering effects from an upper respiratory viral illness he contracted while with the Boston Celtics two seasons ago.
“We always said availability was a big factor for our team with all the guys we have out,” Curry said. “It’s no secret that the [centre] spot is an important one for us, especially with his skill set. It’s hard to talk about without keeping the humanity of it in mind. But it is a tough one to figure out.”
Team sources continue to express extreme pessimism that Porzingis will play for the Warriors again. However, his contract, which is guaranteed for only $3 million next season, could still prove valuable in executing a trade.
How did Porzingis and the Warriors get here?
Porzingis’s current salary slot was created during the summer of 2025, during a restricted free agency standoff with Jonathan Kuminga. Dunleavy and the Warriors were uneasy about committing long term to Kuminga but felt he still held more value and upside than the sign-and-trade offers on the table. They stood firm and eventually compromised on a two-year, $46.8 million deal that included a team option and a requirement that Kuminga waive his implicit no-trade clause. Kuminga’s side felt he was being turned into a human trade exception.
The Warriors then traded Kuminga’s contract to Atlanta for Porzingis’s expiring $30.7 million deal in February. They maintained salary flexibility and believed they could manage Porzingis’s health well enough to get production from him.
That approach worked for a time. Porzingis appeared in 15 of the team’s last 20 games and averaged 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. That gave the front office and medical staff enough confidence to approve a two-year, $40 million extension in late June for a player who wanted to continue his NBA career.
The Warriors built in protections for a move they knew carried major risk. Only $3 million of the $20 million in the second season is guaranteed. The extension also allowed Porzingis to be traded immediately rather than waiting until Dec. 15.
Dunleavy and the Warriors believed Porzingis would be an available rotation piece for stretches of the schedule, not just a tradable contract. Before training camp, there was buzz from the coaching staff about the intriguing possibilities of a Yaxel Lendeborg, Green and Porzingis front line. Porzingis was in the practice facility getting court work the week before camp and attended Jimmy Butler’s player-led event in San Diego in late September. Optimism faded there, however, as team sources in attendance described him as indifferent and uninterested in taking part in scrimmages and strenuous on-court work.
What are the Warriors’ options with Porzingis?
Porzingis called Dunleavy and stepped away from the team on the eve of training camp, citing what the team deemed a private health matter. The Warriors gave him some space at first but expected him to return to the facility and be around his teammates and the medical staff.
After a meeting with Celebrini and Dunleavy in early October, the team issued a statement saying Porzingis would be around. That did not last. Porzingis has not returned to the facility, and the organisation changed his official status from out with “general illness”, as it had listed during his absences last season, to “not with team”. That change was deliberate, and the absence can no longer be described as excused.
Porzingis’s unwillingness to be present at the facility could be considered a failure to render his services, a point raised internally, sources said. That could be used in an attempt to void his entire contract. However, that route would bring its own complications, unless Porzingis expressed an intention to retire and willingly returned all the money.
The Warriors are currently $20.4 million over the luxury tax line. Removing Porzingis’s salary would erase nearly all of that tax bill, move them under the first apron and give them more trade flexibility. It would not free up a major roster-building tool, however. They could only add a player on the minimum through free agency.
The Warriors faced a similar situation two seasons ago. They signed De’Anthony Melton to a one-year, $12.8 million deal in July 2024. He tore an ACL in early November and was ruled out for the season. Dunleavy responded by arranging a trade with the Brooklyn Nets for Dennis Schroder, executed on the first day Schroder could be traded (Dec. 15). It cost the Warriors a net of two second-round picks. Schroder played 24 games for Golden State before being traded as part of a deadline deal to acquire Butler.
That kind of move would suit the Warriors in the current Porzingis situation. They could use a minor asset to acquire a usable rotation player in the interim while keeping the flexibility to repackage the expiring salary for a bigger move at the deadline.
However, under the new anti-tanking rules, there are no obvious trade partners willing to part with a usable player for a minor asset, especially in late October. Dunleavy has already gauged the trade market, league sources said, but this is traditionally a quiet period. Front offices typically gather information about their rosters before making bigger decisions closer to January and February.
For now, the Warriors are showing willingness to be patient with the Porzingis contract and let the market develop, league sources said. If Porzingis agreed to give back a large portion of his money in a buyout, his expiring $20 million deal could become more attractive to a trade partner looking for financial benefit.
What is the Warriors’ plan in the interim?
Lendeborg’s immediate success has lifted the mood and eased some concern around the team. The rookie wing scored 31 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and handed out six assists in a surprising blowout win in Denver on Monday night.
Lendeborg’s power and size, at 6-foot-10 and 241 pounds, allow the Warriors to play Green at centre while still feeling bigger than in their previous small-ball lineups. Lendeborg has 37 rebounds in four games.
Golden State’s current starting lineup of Lendeborg, Green, Curry, Brandin Podziemski and Gui Santos has a plus-22 rating in a small early-season sample. Horford, limited to around 20 minutes per game and unable to play back-to-backs, has looked fresh in brief stints.
While going through a semi-rebuild, the Warriors have shown more willingness to give opportunities to their younger players, hoping to uncover some valuable pieces and improve their long-term outlook.
Ike has started two of the first four games but will be limited to 50 games in total unless the Warriors convert his two-way contract into a full deal. Charles Bassey, a 25-year-old journeyman trying to earn a spot after five previous stops, provides another big body off the bench.
“I love the attitude of this team,” Kerr said. “I love the energy, the spirit. I like our talent. Then I think our two young big guys are good players.”