SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors acquired Kristaps Porziņģis to study his health and fitness. To evaluate his game. To see how he fits in an offense designed around Stephen Curry. If nothing else, there would be value in his $30.7 million expiring contract.
There is the other side, too, in which Porziņģis conducts his evaluation of the people at Golden State. That’s going exceedingly well.
Though Porziņģis, 30, is not publicly campaigning for a chance to re-sign with the Warriors, early impressions indicate he’s already considering it. He’s attracted to the opportunity to play alongside Curry, and he is a believer in the team’s medical and training staff, led by Dr. Rick Celebrini.
When Porziņģis came to the Warriors seven weeks ago, he had been sidelined for the previous four weeks with tendinitis in his left Achilles. After missing four games, he made his Warriors debut two weeks later, on Feb. 19, before an illness sidelined him for the next six games.
During that time, Porziņģis became a Celebrini disciple.
“Rick’s amazing,” he said Thursday after practice. “Rick is the goat, man. Really. I’m very happy with these guys, and I’m sure they will keep me on the same path.”
This matters. When Porziņģis hits the market this summer as an unrestricted free agent, much of his decision will be based on his trust in teams’ medical/training staff. The Warriors already have moved into the lead.
That he has appeared in seven of Golden State’s last nine games is a sign of progress. He feels as if he’s trending toward playing in back-to-back sets.
“I think it’s a conversation,” Porziņģis said. “I don’t know yet if I will get the chance, but maybe. Maybe. Doing pretty good and recovering well. I’m still not playing super-high minutes, obviously, but the better I feel, the better I start to look. I’ll probably earn more minutes and then probably after that, the next step is to get a chance on a back-to-back. That’s what I’m working towards.”
Another factor in Porziņģis’ offseason prospects would be comfort with those on which he shares the court. He arrived six days after Curry limped off the court with “runner’s knee,” so they have yet to play together.
So far, Curry the teammate is limited to the locker room. Curry the on-court partner exists only in KP’s dreams.
“Yeah, for sure, just more open looks, honestly,” Porzingis said. “It just simplifies it. It will just be more open looks for everybody. But also, learning his style a bit better. Because he moves so much. It takes a little bit of time to get a rhythm, to get a feel for where he’s running, what he’s doing and where he’s expecting the ball.
“He’s not running for free, while we’re doing something else. We have to make sure we find a good rhythm.”
Golden State is assured of playing 10 more games, nine remaining in the regular season and then the play-in tournament opener on April 14 or 15. The front office would love to have already had a look at the Curry-Porziņģis dynamic, some video to study as they ponder their offseason moves.
Yet the Warriors still have not issued a timetable for Curry’s return. That is expected on Friday, hours before tipoff at Chase Center against the Washington Wizards.
It is safe to assume Porziņģis wants Curry to join him on the court as soon as possible.
“He has changed the game,” Porziņģis said of Curry. “To be on the same team, just to be around him, even without playing, it’s pretty cool. To learn from him, hear how he sees the game, it’s something you don’t take for granted.”
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