The Golden State Warriors have stopped paying Kristaps Porzingis, ruling that the absent big man is not rendering services under his $20 million contract.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the move on X on Wednesday morning, citing sources, in a report shared with ESPN colleague Anthony Slater. ESPN’s full story said the Warriors are holding back the semimonthly payments on his salary. The news was quickly picked up by NBC Sports, CBS Sports and Hoops Rumors. The Warriors had not put out an official statement on the payments in those reports, so the move is based on league and team sources for now.
Porzingis, 31, has not been with the team since the eve of training camp in late September. He signed a two-year, $40 million extension with Golden State this summer, with only $3 million guaranteed in the second season. According to ESPN, the former All-Star is leaning toward ending his NBA career after dealing with health problems over the past two seasons.
The cost adds up quickly. ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted that a player fined for failing to render services loses 1/91.6th of his salary for each missed game, which comes to $218,341 per game for Porzingis. His full salary still counts against Golden State’s salary cap and tax apron.
ESPN reported that Porzingis is not actively disputing the missed payments and that the players’ union has no plans to challenge them for now. That could change. When the Philadelphia 76ers withheld pay from Ben Simmons in the 2021-22 season, Simmons filed a grievance, and the two sides later reached a settlement.
The bigger story may be the trade market. ESPN reported that the Warriors have no plans to void the contract and will keep looking for trades using his nearly expiring deal, which they can move at any point before the Feb. 11 trade deadline even while not paying him. A rival team could take on the salary to clear longer-term money, though Golden State may have to attach young players or draft picks to make a deal work.
The Warriors are off to a 5-3 start without him, according to CBS Sports.
Sources: ESPN’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater (on X and ESPN.com), ESPN’s Bobby Marks, NBC Sports, CBS Sports and Hoops Rumors.
Photo: “Sunset on the Hoop,” Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0 public domain dedication. Generic image; not a photo of the player or team.
