Kristaps Porzingis’ health key to Warriors’ second half of NBA season

When Jimmy Butler suffered a torn ACL in his right knee Jan. 19, everything changed for the Warriors. 

Before Butler’s injury, they had won 9 of 12 games and had seemingly found their rhythm after a bumpy start to the season. But after he was sidelined, the Warriors have lost 7 of 11. 

The Warriors tried to take a big swing for Giannis Antetokounmpo before the Feb. 5 trade deadline, but the Bucks decided not to trade their superstar. So, the Warriors pivoted and acquired Kristaps Porzingis, who is expected to make his Warriors debut Thursday. 

The Warriors are in eighth place in the Western Conference at 29-26. Here are their three biggest storylines as they approach the stretch run of the season:

1. Will Kristaps Porzingis remain healthy?

If Porzingis is healthy, the Warriors could be competitive. Porzingis, who helped the Celtics win a championship in 2024, is a three-level scorer who will space the floor for Steph Curry with his 3-point shooting and his low-post skills. The problem is the 7-foot-2 center has only played in 17 games this season because of issues with his left Achilles tendon as well as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.

Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy expressed confidence that Porzingis’ health won’t be an issue. 

“We feel good about it,” Dunleavy said Feb. 7. “We looked into it pretty in depth. We believe in our medical staff. There’s no guarantees, there’s no certainty, but kind of where he’s at right now, where he’s been, we feel good about it.”

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Dunleavy said acquiring Porzingis for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield was a smart gamble for the Warriors. The relationship between Kuminga and the franchise that selected him as the seventh overall pick in the 2021 draft had become fractured, and Kuminga had only played in three games for the Warriors since Dec. 6. 

“We’re sending out a player in a similar boat that struggled to stay on the floor,” Dunleavy said. “I think from our standpoint, we recognize the risk medically (with Porzingis), but it’s a risk we’re willing to take.”

Meanwhile, Porzingis, who averaged 17.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots a game this season for the Hawks, called joining the Warriors a great opportunity. When asked if he’s confident he can remain on the floor despite his health issues, he didn’t hesitate. 

“I’m confident that I will,” he said. “I will do everything right, and I believe I will.”

2. How long is Steph Curry’s championship window? 

When it became clear that Butler would miss the rest of the season, Curry’s chances of competing for his fifth ring were considered gone, a devastating realization for a superstar who led the Warriors to four championships in eight years from 2015-2022. 

The 37-year-old Curry is averaging 27.2 points on 46.8% shooting, 3.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists a game this season. He became the oldest point guard to be voted as a starter in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday. 

He’s still at the top of his game. But the question is: For how long?

A team with a healthy Curry, Butler, Porzingis and Draymond Green could undoubtedly make noise in the playoffs. But without Butler and with Porzingis’ health a question mark, will this be a wasted season for Curry, who’s widely considered the greatest shooter of all time?

Curry, who turns 38 next month and has missed the team’s last five games because of right knee issues, is nearing the sunset of his career and for him not to have a real shot at contending while he’s playing at this level is unfortunate. He will not play against the Celtics on Thursday, coach Steve Kerr said.

Curry, however, said if the Warriors can make the playoffs, they shouldn’t be counted out. 

“We feel like we’re still a dangerous team,” Curry said Saturday ahead of the All-Star Game. “All you want is the opportunity when those seven-game series start to have a chance.”

3. Could Warriors make big splash this offseason? 

The Warriors don’t have high expectations this season. But they have a treasure chest of first-round picks at their disposal. And they made it clear earlier this month during the Antetokounmpo chase that they’re not afraid to go all in on trying to build a championship team around Curry. 

“Our chips are all in on winning,” Dunleavy said.

That sets up the Warriors to try to make a big splash this summer. 

So, more than anything, the next two months will be a trial period of sorts for Porzingis, who’s on an expiring $30.7 million contract. If he plays well, the Warriors could keep him. If not, they’ll have enough cap space and first-round picks to retool the team. 

So, even though the Warriors didn’t make a trade earlier this month that will make them immediate contenders, they improved their roster without making any long-term commitments and retained their most-prized draft capital, which could set them up to give Curry another shot at a championship next season. 

“We’ve got the goods to make deals,” Dunleavy said. “I think the only way we wouldn’t be in the mix is if we gave up assets, young players. All the things you would need to get a great player, we still have all that. I think that’s one of the reasons the KP trade is really good for us, similar to Jimmy last year. We don’t feel like we gave up a ton. And so we still have kind of the firepower to move forward and do more deals, and that’s what we like about that.”