Stephen Curry in particular – nor the Golden State Warriors in general – have been able to hide the unease that turning the start of the 2026-27 season into a string of negative news has caused everyone, with the most glaring absence being that of Kristaps Porzingis.
Although the Latvian signed his renewal with the San Francisco side for two years and €40 million (€23 million guaranteed), under the commitment to make every effort to be available for most of the season, that scenario blew up even before the campaign began.
Back in September, when Jimmy Butler organised an event to bring the team together in San Diego, Porzingis was seen as distant, indifferent and uninterested by his own teammates, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN.
That was the first point on a broken line, followed by the warning of his absence from training camp, two weeks without communicating with Dunleavy and Celebrini, and finally the announcement that he was still recovering from the effects of his autoimmune health problem and that he is sidelined indefinitely.
Nobody here doubts that if Porzingis isn’t playing it is because he really can’t, but the Warriors’ management cannot be said to have been the best possible. First they gambled by acquiring a player with serious health problems, then they renewed his contract, and now they are desperate to find him a way out. That journey is hard to understand.
Stephen Curry does not hide his regret
The season opened, the Warriors faced Luka Doncic’s Los Angeles Lakers and they could not even compete. The faces of Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr and all the Warriors told the whole story. Draymond Green, who had been promised he would not have to play at ‘five’ this year, ended up right there, and the feeling is that the campaign could turn into an absolute nightmare.
“It’s a difficult thing for several reasons. For him (Porzingis) personally, above all. But for us as a team… You have an idea of who you are at the start of the season. We said availability was an important factor for our team with the players we already had out. There’s no secret that that position is a very important one for us, especially with his skill set,” he concludes.
(Photo by IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)