NBA injury update: $40 million Golden State Warriors star gets positive news after devastating first season with the franchise
Kristaps Porzingis joined the Warriors at the trade deadline as a key piece, and his first stretch in Golden State never got going. Illness and injuries kept taking games away, and the year closed with more questions than answers.
The $40 million star has spent the summer insisting the mystery illness is in the past. Now a new assistant coach and the general manager are backing that optimism with their own words, and one of them has a very specific plan for the big man. Media Day arrives on Sept. 28, so the first live answers are close.
Warriors' Kristaps Porzingis gets positive health update
Kristaps Porzingis has sent the same message all summer. The 2024 NBA champion has said more than once that the "mystery illness" is behind the Latvian, and that a full season feels realistic.
The staff now sounds like it agrees. Frank Vogel, the new assistant on Steve Kerr's bench, made it plain. "I'm really excited about putting him in my defensive system," Vogel told Luca Evans of the San Francisco Chronicle. Vogel said the scheme is packed with details he believes in, and that shot-blocking bigs get a lot out of it. He looks forward to putting Porzingis in those spots.
On paper, the pairing with Draymond Green stands out. A front line of Porzingis and Green could cause opponents real trouble, particularly if Gui Santos, De'Anthony Melton and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg deliver on the perimeter. Golden State finished 11th in the league on defense last year, and this group projects to be better than average.
General manager Mike Dunleavy sees it the same way. The team studied the problem at length, Dunleavy told the Chronicle, looking at how to help and how to do better. The things the staff discussed and worked through, he said, "lean in the direction of him having a healthier year."
Camp will offer the first real evidence. Media Day is set for Sept. 28, and the Warriors train at BYU-Hawaii from Sept. 29 through Oct. 3. The team has already signed Nick Boyd, Elias Ralph and Obi Agbim to training camp deals, and the 15-man roster is expected to be final in the first week of October.
Kristaps Porzingis' first season with Warriors was devastatingIt is easy to see why the Warriors are welcoming good news. Golden State thought the trade deadline had delivered a key piece, and the closing stretch of the regular season said otherwise.
Porzingis missed 16 games over that stretch and played in only 15, thanks to a mix of injuries and illnesses. The Latvian big man was more often out than in, which is a tough way to start life with a new team.
The play-in tournament brought a bit of hope and then a setback. Porzingis looked good in the win over the Clippers, a sign of what the Warriors had been hoping to get. Against the Suns, right ankle soreness held Porzingis to 15 minutes in the final play-in loss. Fifteen games to close the regular season, then fifteen minutes in the final play-in game.
Golden State opens the preseason against the Clippers in Honolulu on Oct. 4, then starts the regular season against the Lakers on Oct. 21 at Crypto.com Arena.
The $40 million star has spent the summer insisting the mystery illness is in the past. Now a new assistant coach and the general manager are backing that optimism with their own words, and one of them has a very specific plan for the big man. Media Day arrives on Sept. 28, so the first live answers are close.
Warriors' Kristaps Porzingis gets positive health update
Kristaps Porzingis has sent the same message all summer. The 2024 NBA champion has said more than once that the "mystery illness" is behind the Latvian, and that a full season feels realistic.
The staff now sounds like it agrees. Frank Vogel, the new assistant on Steve Kerr's bench, made it plain. "I'm really excited about putting him in my defensive system," Vogel told Luca Evans of the San Francisco Chronicle. Vogel said the scheme is packed with details he believes in, and that shot-blocking bigs get a lot out of it. He looks forward to putting Porzingis in those spots.
On paper, the pairing with Draymond Green stands out. A front line of Porzingis and Green could cause opponents real trouble, particularly if Gui Santos, De'Anthony Melton and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg deliver on the perimeter. Golden State finished 11th in the league on defense last year, and this group projects to be better than average.
General manager Mike Dunleavy sees it the same way. The team studied the problem at length, Dunleavy told the Chronicle, looking at how to help and how to do better. The things the staff discussed and worked through, he said, "lean in the direction of him having a healthier year."
Camp will offer the first real evidence. Media Day is set for Sept. 28, and the Warriors train at BYU-Hawaii from Sept. 29 through Oct. 3. The team has already signed Nick Boyd, Elias Ralph and Obi Agbim to training camp deals, and the 15-man roster is expected to be final in the first week of October.
Kristaps Porzingis' first season with Warriors was devastatingIt is easy to see why the Warriors are welcoming good news. Golden State thought the trade deadline had delivered a key piece, and the closing stretch of the regular season said otherwise.
Porzingis missed 16 games over that stretch and played in only 15, thanks to a mix of injuries and illnesses. The Latvian big man was more often out than in, which is a tough way to start life with a new team.
The play-in tournament brought a bit of hope and then a setback. Porzingis looked good in the win over the Clippers, a sign of what the Warriors had been hoping to get. Against the Suns, right ankle soreness held Porzingis to 15 minutes in the final play-in loss. Fifteen games to close the regular season, then fifteen minutes in the final play-in game.
Golden State opens the preseason against the Clippers in Honolulu on Oct. 4, then starts the regular season against the Lakers on Oct. 21 at Crypto.com Arena.
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