Warriors look at Wendell Carter Jr. and Naz Reid as Porzingis absence drags on
With Kristaps Porzingis out indefinitely and unpaid, the Warriors are linked to Wendell Carter Jr. and Naz Reid ahead of Friday's game at San Antonio.
The Golden State Warriors are less than a month into the season and already looking for a new big man. According to the New York Post, ClutchPoints insider Brett Siegel named two possible targets: Orlando's Wendell Carter Jr. and Charlotte's Naz Reid. Siegel also said he has heard the Norman Powell rumors linking Powell to Golden State but does not believe them.
The frontcourt problem is Kristaps Porzingis. Golden State traded for him at last season's deadline and gave him a two-year, $40 million extension this past summer. Before the season he announced he would be out indefinitely with an illness he has not identified. Last week Shams Charania reported that the Warriors have stopped paying his $20 million salary because they consider him not to be rendering services. The Post goes further and says Porzingis may never play in the league again.
That stopped salary gives the front office some flexibility. Siegel called Carter a player Orlando might want to dump "to free up some cap space on their end." Carter makes $18.1 million this season and $19.6 million next season, and the team holds an option for 2028-29. Reid would cost more. He is in the second year of the five-year, $125 million deal he signed with Minnesota before he was traded to Charlotte in the offseason. His salary rises to $23.3 million next year and reaches a $28.4 million player option in 2029-30. Siegel said Portland is among the other teams that have shown interest in Reid.
The search for a big man now comes with a second injury. Yahoo Sports reports that Stephen Curry has a torn oblique and will miss at least two weeks. Without Curry and with Porzingis gone indefinitely, Golden State has fewer players to lean on, and that may push the front office to move sooner.
What it means at San Antonio
The Warriors are 8-4. They opened 0-3 with losses to the Lakers, Memphis and Phoenix, then won eight straight. That run included a 138-87 rout of New Orleans and road wins at Denver and Minnesota. Houston ended it on Tuesday with a 115-108 win, and the Warriors now head to San Antonio on Friday (Prime Video) for their first full game without Curry.
The board shows how much the market thinks Curry matters. Across 12 venues, the Spurs are heavily favored. Novig lists San Antonio at -614 and Golden State at +590 on the moneyline, and sportsbook hold on that market runs from 3.9% to 5.6%. Novig has the Spurs at -12.5 on the spread, priced at -106. The venues differ by a full point in each direction. theScore Bet offers San Antonio at -11.5 (-115), and BetRivers offers the Warriors at +13.5 (-122), compared with Novig's +12.5 at +102. Novig sets the total at 219.5, with the over at -104 and the under at -100. Elsewhere the total ranges from 218.5 at FanDuel to 220.5 at theScore Bet.
A double-digit spread against a team that won eight straight shows how much depends on Curry. For the rest of November, the Warriors will need to show they can compete without him. In the meantime, the front office has to decide whether Carter or Reid is worth trading for while Porzingis stays out. Full prices are on the game page.