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The Golden State Warriors’ frontcourt play was far from elite from 2014- 25.
The Dubs relied heavily on game-changing perimeter shooting and off-the-dribble playmaking from the likes of Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry to flourish offensively and secure four championship victories.
Acquiring former New York Knicks All-Star center Kristaps Porzingis before last season’s Feb. 5 deadline finally provided Stephen Curry with a high-caliber big man capable of serving several different purposes on the hardwood.
While injuries limited his production in the Bay, Bleacher Report’s Scott Polacek is still a firm believer that the 30-year-old unrestricted free agent is a good fit with the Dubs. The Philadelphia 76ers are a team Polacek thinks could put up a good fight for the former first-round pick, though.
“Returning to the Warriors makes sense,” Polacek wrote Tuesday. “NBA Insider Jake Fischer reported in June the Western Conference team was ‘hopeful’ it could bring him back 'on more of a cap-friendly deal after absorbing his $30.7 million expiring contract from Atlanta (Hawks) on Deadline Day in February."
“He can still be a floor-spacing, rim-protecting frontcourt player for the Warriors, which is exactly what they need with Stephen Curry's style of play. And this is a team very much still in win-now mode with veterans in Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler leading the way, so there would be no awkward timeline matches.”
“But there are other landing spots if Porzingis is willing to take a smaller deal. The Philadelphia 76ers need frontcourt depth behind Joel Embiid, and Porzingis is someone who could work in pick-and-pops with Tyrese Maxey.”
If the Dubs re-sign Porzingis this summer, they’ll have to collectively hold their breath and hope that he can make it through a full season without suffering a season-altering setback.
Things went downhill for Porzingis health-wise after his 66-game campaign with the Knicks in 2026-27, as he’s only appeared in 60+ regular-season contests once since then and has proven to be unreliable despite his awe-inspiring contributions on both ends.
Porzingis averaged 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game with the Warriors last season, shooting 43.3% from the field and 31.1% from deep.
The most likely offseason scenario for the Liepaja, Latvia native would be spending another campaign with a Warriors franchise that viewed him as a franchise-elevating acquisition four months ago.
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