Warriors stop paying Kristaps Porzingis as absent center's trade value comes into focus
Golden State has stopped Kristaps Porzingis' semimonthly salary payments, ruling he isn't rendering services, while it keeps looking for a trade.
The Golden State Warriors have stopped paying Kristaps Porzingis. League sources told ESPN that the team is withholding the semimonthly checks on the center's $20 million salary because it has ruled that he is not rendering his services. Anthony Slater and Shams Charania reported that Porzingis is not disputing the decision.
The move turns a months-long standoff into a contract matter. Porzingis signed a two-year, $40 million extension this summer, and NBC Sports noted that only $3 million of the second year is guaranteed. He called general manager Mike Dunleavy the day before training camp opened and stepped away. After an early-October meeting with Dunleavy and lead medical decision-maker Rick Celebrini, the club said he would be around the facility. According to ESPN, he left anyway and has not come back. The team then changed his listed status from "general illness" to "not with team," and ESPN reports the absence is no longer treated as excused.
Golden State has no plans to void the deal, team sources told ESPN, because it wants to keep the contract available as a trade piece until the Feb. 11 deadline. That is the real point of the decision. Porzingis, 31, is reportedly leaning toward retirement, and his nearly expiring salary could help a rival team send out a longer contract to save money, or could bring Golden State a draft pick, depending on what the Warriors add. Hoops Rumors also reported that the Warriors' position is that he is not meeting the obligations of his player contract. Thursday's opponent has dealt with something similar. Last season the Miami Heat withheld Terry Rozier's pay during a federal gambling investigation and shopped his contract in the months before the deadline.
On the court, none of this has changed much. Steve Kerr's staff has prepared as if Porzingis would not be available, and the team has won five straight since an 0-3 start.
What it means against Miami
The Warriors are 5-3 and host the Heat on Thursday, November 5, on NBA TV. The opening week went badly, with a 127-105 loss to the Lakers, a three-point home loss to Memphis and a 131-122 defeat in Phoenix. Since then they have won 134-114 in Denver, 119-114 in Minnesota, and 112-95 over the Lakers, 124-112 over the Clippers and 116-113 over Phoenix at home.
The board for the game has Golden State favored across six venues. Novig lists the Warriors at -186 on the moneyline. FanDuel's -178 is the shortest price anywhere, worth $56.18 profit per $100 compared with $53.76 at Novig. Miami's spread is wider: Novig has the Heat at +156, and Polymarket's +177 is the longest available, a 21-point gap. The Warriors are favored by 4.5 points, priced at -113 on both sides at Novig and -110 at FanDuel. The total sits between 236.5 and 238.5 depending on the venue, and sportsbook hold runs from 4.0% to 5.3% on the moneyline.
The price on Thursday reflects a team playing well without Porzingis. What the Warriors can get for his contract before February may matter more for the rest of their season.
