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Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob defended the team’s decision to sign Kristaps Porziņģis on Tuesday. He acknowledged disappointment over the center’s absence and said the Warriors now have to adjust.
Lacob spoke with Tim Kawakami on The TK Show in an 18-minute “Sound File” episode. The conversation came four days after Porziņģis announced he is stepping away from basketball to prioritize his health.
“I mean it’s disappointing,” Lacob said. “We certainly had every intention of him being a core part of the team. We knew it was a risk, he’s had some injury history, but it was a good risk worth taking in my view. I think Mike [Dunleavy] did the right thing by signing him. I thought the deal was good. I guess you could sit there and say, and some have, ‘You should have anticipated this,’ but there’s no way you could.”
“He played last spring,” Lacob said. “We thought we had the medical condition under control and right up until training camp, we had every belief that he was going to come in and be a serious contributor to our team, so it is what it is. Now we have to adjust. We have to be flexible. We have to make the best of our situation . . . I think there’s room to do something.”
Kristaps Porziņģis’ Trade, Re-Signing And Time With Golden State
On Feb. 5, Golden State acquired Porziņģis from the Atlanta Hawks and sent Buddy Hield and Jonathan Kuminga to Atlanta, according to the team’s announcement. He played 15 games for the Warriors after the trade. Over that stretch, he averaged 16.1 points and shot 43.3% from the field and 31.1% from 3-point range, NBA.com reported.
The Warriors announced June 30 that Porziņģis would re-sign. Mike Dunleavy was the team’s general manager for both moves.
Porziņģis entered this season averaging 19.5 points over 533 career games, and he has shot 36.4% from 3-point range for his career. He won the 2024 championship with the Boston Celtics. The fourth overall pick in the 2015 draft, he is now with his sixth NBA team.
Porziņģis’ Absence From Training Camp Through His Nov. 6 Announcement
Porziņģis’ status had been uncertain since late September. The Warriors ruled him out indefinitely with a health issue, and he did not travel with the team to training camp in Hawaii, NBA.com reported. At media day Sept. 28, Dunleavy said he did not have a timeline.
Porziņģis missed five preseason games. On Oct. 14, Golden State said he remained out indefinitely after meeting with Dunleavy and Rick Celebrini the previous day. A week later, on Oct. 21, the team said conversations would remain private and that Porziņģis was not expected around the team in the immediate future.
Porziņģis, 31, announced Friday, Nov. 6, in a post on X that he is stepping away from basketball to prioritize his health. He wrote that his body did not respond the way he expected as he ramped up. He also wrote that he is not where he wants to be to perform at his own standard.
Porziņģis did not disclose the nature of the health matter. He wrote that he would work with the Warriors to find a solution, but he did not say whether he intends to resume playing.
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