ESPN’s Shams Charania just dropped a bombshell, reporting that Golden State has officially started exploring trade routes for Kristaps Porziņģis. This isn’t some minor injury sidelining him for a few weeks, folks, this is serious. Porziņģis is apparently “seriously contemplating his future in basketball” as he battles recurring symptoms from an autoimmune condition called POTS, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.
The Brutal Reality of POTS and Porziņģis’s Battle
This is just brutal to hear, man. Anthony Slater’s reporting paints an even sadder picture. Porziņģis totally missed the first two weeks of training camp and the entire preseason. Then, last Tuesday, he drove all the way from Los Angeles to San Francisco to meet with Dunleavy and Rick Celebrini, the franchise’s lead medical decision-maker. After that meeting, the team kept the details private, saying they expected Porziņģis to stay around and try to get healthy. But that hasn’t happened. He hasn’t returned to the facility, according to league sources, starting another indefinite leave of absence. He’s mostly just talking to Dunleavy and Celebrini. This is a person reaching his wits end with a near-unsolvable issue, and the tens of millions of dollars at stake only adds to the pressure. His health and his life are absolutely paramount, so you can see why these leaves of absence are necessary. It’s a truly bad situation for him.
Golden State’s Plans Are Still Full Steam Ahead?
Here’s the wild part, though: this might not even blow up the Warriors’ whole season plan. It sounds like they signed him to his two-year extension with a situation exactly like this in mind. Danny Emerman over at the San Francisco Standard reported this morning that Golden State’s cap situation, with all their expiring deals and picks, has them set up to make a splashy in-season trade. So, yeah, losing a projected starter before the season even begins isn’t ideal, but it’s not a massive hit to their overall strategy. It makes you wonder how much faith they had that Yaxel Lendeborg is as big as Draymond Green projects.
This whole thing is a total bummer, plain and simple. POTS has been linked to “long COVID,” and the federal government has even scaled back research on treatments, so Porziņģis isn’t alone in looking for answers. But it’s tough, because in this league, a guy can feel like just a buckets delivery system, not a person. While the team is clearly looking at next steps, our biggest hope right now has to be that Kristaps Porziņģis can find some relief soon. This is a lifelong ailment that can really only be managed, and even then, it’s not always easy.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Golden State of Mind.
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