Kristaps Porzingis is Officially Playing Hooky from the Warriors
Extreme level of pessimism Porzingis ever plays for Warriors again
The Kristaps Porzingis era in Golden State is apparently ending before anyone even really got used to the idea of it.
According to Anthony Slater, there is an extreme level of pessimism that Porzingis will ever suit up for the Warriors again. To make matters worse, his time away from the team facility has officially crossed the line into an unexcused absence.
You know a relationship is completely cooked when a franchise stops using polite PR speak and just marks a player down as truant. It is the NBA equivalent of a high schooler skipping third period, except this guy is seven-foot-three and attached to a massive contract.
The Warriors are currently sitting at a 1-3 record after dropping games to the Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, and before finally blowing out the Denver Nuggets. They are trying to navigate a brutal Western Conference, and having a huge chunk of their salary cap sitting at home unexcused is not exactly a recipe for early-season success.
Golden State is reportedly willing to be patient and let a trade market materialize for his contract. If you are holding a Warriors futures ticket, this is the part where you start sweating. You are now relying on another front office to look at an expensive, absent center and decide that is exactly what their locker room needs.
The Warriors head to Minnesota next to face the Minnesota Timberwolves, and they will obviously do it without their big man. Until a desperate team decides to roll the dice on a Porzingis trade, Golden State is stuck playing a very expensive waiting game.