Kristaps

Porziņģis

Porziņǵis, who has struggled with health issues for the last two seasons, missed Golden State’s first five preseason games due to what the Warriors describe as a “health-related matter.” He’ll remain sidelined indefinitely, giving Gui Santos and Yaxel Lendeborg more opportunities in the frontcourt. Both appear on track to start the regular season, with Lendeborg offering higher fantasy upside. Al Horford is expected to be limited to 20 minutes, so he offers little fantasy value. As for Porziņǵis, fantasy managers should avoid drafting him, especially in standard leagues.

Hopefully this will provide more clarity as to when Porziņģis will be available to suit up. As of now, Steve Kerr said he is “leaning towards” starting Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos, Yaxel Lendeborg and Draymond Green on opening night. Whenever he gets healthy, Porziņģis will be a significant piece in the Warriors’ rotation.

There still isn’t much clarity as to what Porziņģis is dealing with, and the team doesn’t know when he’ll be back around. Porziņģis has had plenty of health issues over the last few seasons, and that may continue to prevent him from being available as the season starts. He signed a two-year contract to remain with the Warriors back in June.

Porziņǵis has appeared in only 74 games across the last two seasons, and availability will be a major concern heading into the 2026-27 season. Al Horford and Draymond Green are well past their primes, and Jimmy Butler is still on the mend after tearing his right ACL in January. With so many frontcourt minutes up for grabs, rookie Yaxel Lendeborg is a fascinating late-round selection with upside.

Acquired from the Hawks at the trade deadline, injuries and a lingering illness limited Porziņǵis to 15 appearances for the Warriors last season. The veteran center played just 32 games overall, averaging 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.7 three-pointers in 24.0 minutes. Porziņǵis’ contract includes a player option for the second season. While he’s certainly capable of being a highly impactful option for fantasy managers when available, injuries have been a major concern for Porziņǵis in recent seasons.

Horford declined his player option, but is staying with the Warriors on a two-year deal. Horford turned 40 earlier this month and is entering his 20th season in the NBA. He’ll be the 13th player in league history to reach 20 seasons. Horford’s return is the first move in securing Golden State’s frontline for the upcoming season. The organization is in talks to bring Kristaps Porzingis back on a short-term contract and expects Draymond Green to exercise his player option. A part-time player at this point of his career, Horford doesn’t carry much fantasy value. He averaged career-lows in points, rebounds and minutes last season.

Porziņġis had been upgraded from questionable to available, marking good news for the Warriors. The veteran center posted a 20/5/5/1/2 line against the Clippers in the team’s Play-In Tournament win on Wednesday and will have a good chance to land strong production on Friday.

One day removed from playing 28 minutes in Wednesday’s win over the Clippers, Porziņǵis is on the injury report due to a sore left ankle. If he’s unable to play on Friday, the Warriors may turn to Al Horford, who logged 22 minutes on Wednesday. That would mean more minutes for Gary Payton II as well, even though he does not share a position with Porziņǵis or Horford.

Porziņģis entered the postseason having shot below 40 percent in three straight games. However, he was able to post his best field goal percentage as a Warrior in this game, which contributed to them surviving the 9/10 play-in game. They’ll need Porziņģis at his best in Friday’s game against the Suns to have a chance to advance to the playoffs. Porziņģis’ availability has been limited this season, but when he’s been on the floor, his impact has been clear.

Kerr made the comments following Sunday’s regular-season finale, a loss to the Clippers in the first of two meetings between the teams over four days. None will surpass 40 minutes, but the question is how far beyond 30 minutes the veterans will go. Curry’s 29 minutes on Sunday were the most for him since returning from a case of runner’s knee, and Porziņǵis has logged 29 minutes just twice since joining the Warriors. As for Horford, he has exceeded 30 minutes just twice this season, most recently March 10 against the Bulls.