Warriors center Kristaps Porzingis announced on Friday that he away from basketball focus on your health. The Latvian big man has been out of the team for over a month and has not participated in training camp or the preseason due to undisclosed health issues.
Porzingis has missed much of the past two years with non-injury health issues and has last fall about the diagnosis of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). Neither he nor the Warriors offered any specifics about the ailment that currently prevents him from making the team.
When asked about Porzingis’ statement on Saturday, the head coach Steve Kerr said he recently exchanged text messages with the 31-year-old, but otherwise there have been no major developments in the situation, according to Kenzo Fukuda of ClutchPoints (Twitter references). About an hour later, Fukuda noted that Porzingis’ locker had been cleaned out and the name tag removed.
“We obviously wish him well and hope for the best for him” Kerr said of Porzingis.”He has made up his mind, and there is nothing more to say.”
Porzingis said in a statement that he wanted to “show the utmost respect to the Golden State Warriors and work with them to find a solution that makes sense.” Warriors have according to reports was going to trade Porzingis within weeks and thus has no intention of voiding his contract even though they were maintenance his salary payments, reports ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
Slater hears Porzingis is “amenable” to a deal and confirms the one-time All-Star is believed to be open to a buyout after a trade that would save his new team money, as Jake Fisher of The Stein Line first reported .
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Before Saturday’s game, Kerr told reporters, including Fukuda (Link to Twitter) is that Jimmy Butler worked in full form. The five-time All-NBA forward went to the locker room shortly after and appears to be ramping up his activity as he rehabs from a torn ACL, Fukuda added.
- Star guard Stephen Curry (41 points on 13-of-19 shooting, six rebounds, six assists) led the Warriors to their seventh straight victory Saturday night, Slater writes for ESPN.com. The 38-year-old scored 17 of his 41 points in the final seven minutes of overtime. Curry also made history by scoring 16 of 40 points after turning 35 while passing LeBron James for all time. “It makes me very proud of the work that has been done, especially with some of the injuries and everything” Curry said.But just the thought that I can still reach a certain level, you kind of feed off of that. Especially when it comes in winning form, like tonight, when we needed them all. I appreciate the longevity.” A great beginner Yaksel Landeborg also played a key role in Saturday’s victory, trans Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Areascoring 16 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
- As Poole writes another story for NBC Sports Bay AreaGolden State had the 27th ranked defense through five games, but through five games they had on the 14th. The best assistant coach Frank Vogel and former Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green According to Poole, deserve the lion’s share of the credit for this turnaround. “Frank was amazing” Curry said.He brings in what we’ve done in the past, what almost every trainer does, but also some nuances that are complex ideas but we keep them simple – if that makes sense.“
