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Warriors' Kristaps Porzingis future appears headed toward one brutal ending amid ongoing saga
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- Warriors' Kristaps Porzingis future appears headed toward one brutal ending amid ongoing saga
Warriors' Kristaps Porzingis future appears headed toward one brutal ending amid ongoing saga originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Golden State Warriors are in a very interesting spot, to say the least. After the start they had, the Warriors have looked like a completely different team, which is a positive. However, they have managed to do so while dealing with several injuries.
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Jimmy Butler is still a couple of months away from making his season debut after tearing his ACL. Meanwhile, Kristaps Porzingis is battling a health condition that has left Golden State pessimistic about his return.
"Team sources continue to express an extreme level of pessimism that Porzingis will ever play for the Warriors again, but he could end up helping the organization in another way, because his contract, which is only guaranteed for $3 million next season, could still prove to be valuable in executing a trade," ESPN's Anthony Slater wrote.
With Porzingis absent from the team, it turns out the Warriors are not making payments on his contract.
"The Warriors are not delivering payments to Kristaps Porzingis on his $20 million salary, ruling that he is not rendering services, sources tell me and Anthony V Slater. Golden State is permitted to move his contract at any point before the Feb. 11 deadline even without paying him currently, and will continue exhausting trade avenues as the 31-year-old leans toward ending his NBA career," ESPN's Shams Charania wrote.
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NBA insider Jake Fischer believes the situation is similar to Ben Simmons' time with the Philadelphia 76ers . The key difference, however, is that Porzingis isn't asking for a trade. The biggest takeaway is that the veteran may actually be considering retirement.
"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.
Based on all the reports, it seriously seems like retirement may be the only way this situation ends for Porzingis. The seven-footer is dealing with a condition that could make a comeback difficult.
Even if he gets traded, that doesn't necessarily mean he will play for his next team. This is an outcome no one wanted, but the former lottery pick appears to be nearing the end of his career because of a situation largely outside his control.
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