Kristaps Porzingis ‘optimistic’ about his new opportunity

LOS ANGELES – The Golden State Warriors formally introduced trade deadline acquisition Kristaps Porzingis ahead of Saturday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers. The championship-winning front five expressed their excitement about the new opportunity in the Bay Area.

“Excited as always, you know, especially when I found out where I’m going,” Porzingis said. “Then also like, Al’s here, you know, like, and always like the fan base here, pretty strong fan base out there. And I thought it would be an exciting opportunity.”

The Warriors acquired Porzingis from the Atlanta Hawks ahead of the trade deadline, sending Jonathan Cumminga and Buddy Hield in the process.

In 17 games with the Hawks this season, Porzingis is averaging 17.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 36.0% from 3-point range. The Warriors turned to Porzingis after breaking out on the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, looking for his size, 3-point shooting and rim protection.

Kristaps Porzingis is dealing with health questionnaires

However, whether the Warriors will cash in on those things is a big question mark as Porzingis’ availability has been sparse over the past two seasons. With a string of lower-body injuries and multiple bouts with POTS, the Dubs are taking a risk by relying on Porzingis to give them some juice after Jimmy Butler’s season-ending ACL injury.

But Porzingis is confident he’ll be able to contribute to Golden State, despite his health issues.

“I’m confident I will. I’m confident I will,” Porzingis repeated when the subject of his health was brought up. “I just — I’m going to do everything right, and I believe I will… I think it’s a great, great opportunity to turn over a new page, from what I’ve seen. And the conversations I’ve had so far with the medical staff here and the people who work here, I have to say I’m very surprised and very optimistic that I’m in really good hands, if not some of the best hands.”

The current plan for Porzingis, according to Steve Kerr, is to debut him after the All-Star break, giving him plenty of time with Rick Celebrini and the Warriors’ coaching staff to correct his lingering Achilles tendinitis. Both Kerr and the Managing Director Mike Dunleavy expressed confidence in Porzingis’ healthwith Kerr saying they wouldn’t have made that trade if they didn’t think he could be healthy.

As for Dunleavy, he sees Porzingis’ health situation as not too different from Kuminga’s, hence the willingness to take the risk.

“We’re sending, you know, a player in a similar boat who was struggling to stay on the floor,” Dunleavy said. “So I think, from our standpoint, we recognize the risk, but you know, it’s a risk we’re willing to take.”

Kristaps Porzingis fits with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green

Porzingis also detailed the brief conversations he’s had since meeting with the team in Los Angeles. He has a history with Al Horford from their Boston days and knows Guy Santos from some battles overseas. Porzingis also mentioned how Draymond Green is a guy who knows his preferences, which is why he was relieved to have him on his team for once. But Porzingis primarily expressed his excitement to play alongside Stephen Curry.

“I’ve been a big fan of Steph’s for a long time,” Porzingis said. “He knows that. I always try to tell him after the game. Just watching him out there, he’s unreal. So to play with someone like that is going to be really cool. And I think it elevates everybody when you have someone like that on your team.”

Curry and Porzingis had a long chat with him after the game in the locker room, with both players laughing and laughing at the conversation they had.

Hopefully both will be at full health after the All-Star break. From there, it will be a 28-game sprint to the finish line, similar to last season, as Golden State hopes to make a run from the eighth seed in the West. Regardless, Porzingis and the Warriors are optimistic about their new partnership.

“I’m looking forward to really having a surprisingly good break after the All-Star Game.”