Warriors fear Kristaps Porzingis may never play for them again

The Golden State Warriors are preparing for a season without Kristaps Porzingis. Concern is growing inside the organization that the 31-year-old center may never play for the club again, according to ESPN's Anthony Slater, as relayed by the New York Post.

Porzingis signed a two-year, $40 million extension over the summer. He missed training camp and has not been with the team since. The Post reports that the front office has told coach Steve Kerr to treat Porzingis as a non-factor when he plans rotations and game strategy. That instruction takes him out of the team's short-term plans altogether, not just off the injury report.

It also leaves Golden State with a thin frontcourt. Draymond Green, listed at 6-foot-6, started at center on opening night against the Lakers, and Walker Kessler dunked on the Warriors repeatedly in that game. Green was later assigned to defend the 7-foot-4 Zach Edey. To ease the load on him, Kerr has started Graham Ike, an undrafted center on a two-way contract. That deal limits Ike to 50 games, so he can only be a partial answer over a full season. Charles Bassey, 25, gives the team some depth behind them.

A trade remains possible. The Post noted that a deal this early in the season looks unlikely, so for now the Warriors have to wait. The way things stand, Porzingis may be unavailable for good, and Golden State is playing with smaller lineups than it planned for.

What it means at Minnesota

Golden State is 1-3 heading into Wednesday's game at the Minnesota Timberwolves. The opening week shows the problem. The Warriors lost by 22 to the Lakers, by three at home to Memphis and by nine at Phoenix, giving up 127, 111 and 131 points in those three games. They then won 134-114 at Denver for their first victory. Through four games they have scored 117.3 points per game and allowed 120.8, a gap that comes mostly from the defense near the rim.

The board has Minnesota favored. Novig, one of 12 venues listed on this site's game page, shows the Timberwolves at -153 on the moneyline and the Warriors at +150. On the spread Minnesota is favored by 3.5. Novig prices that side at -113, and DraftKings has the best price at -110. Novig lists Golden State +3.5 at +106. Pinnacle is the only venue offering the Warriors +4, at -105. Novig sets the total at 227.5, with the over at -102 and the under at -100. Elsewhere the total runs from 226.5 at BetRivers to 228.5 at Hard Rock Bet, so the venues differ by about two points. Sportsbook hold on these markets runs from 2.4% to 5.0%.

The spread shows the market expects a close game, even with the Warriors playing without a true starting center. If Green or Ike can stay out of foul trouble and hold up on the glass, Golden State has a chance to win consecutive road games after the Denver win. More on the season is on the Warriors team page.