Warriors Re-sign Kristaps Porzingis, Creating Trade Flexibility Amid LeBron James Speculation

Kristaps Porzingis. Image via: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

The Golden State Warriors locked up Kristaps Porzingis before free agency even opened, but the fine print of that contract says more about their plans than the headline number does. Golden State re-signed the 7-foot-2 center to a two-year, $40 million deal with a player option in the second season, according to ESPN's Shams Charania, keeping him off the open market entirely. Golden State structured the deal as a contract extension rather than a fresh free-agent signing, and that distinction means Porzingis can be traded immediately instead of waiting out the standard restriction that usually applies to newly signed free agents.

How Kristaps Porzingis’ contract may ripple through Warriors’ summer moves

It's unlikely Golden State turns around and trades a player it just paid to keep, but the flexibility matters given everything else happening around the roster. The Warriors have been chasing Washington Wizards big man Anthony Davis in a trade that would likely require moving Jimmy Butler's expiring $56.8 million salary, and Draymond Green's decision to decline his $27.6 million player option freed up additional room to maneuver. Porzingis' new deal isn't large enough on its own to match Davis' salary in a trade, but it gives Golden State a mid-sized expiring contract to work with if the front office wants to pursue an upgrade without giving up Butler. That flexibility comes with a question attached. Porzingis and veteran Al Horford are currently the only two centers on Golden State's roster, and Horford, entering his 20th NBA season, is ticketed for a bench role of 20 to 22 minutes a night. If the Warriors ever did move Porzingis for a player at a different position, they'd need a separate plan to fill the middle of their frontcourt. For now, the more realistic outcome is that Porzingis opens the season in Golden State's starting five exactly as this contract suggests, with the trade eligibility functioning as a safety valve rather than a plan already in motion.

Warriors sign Kristaps Porzingis amid LeBron James' potential landing

LeBron James. Image via: David Berding/Getty Images

The Porzingis move landed the same week LeBron James confirmed he's leaving the Los Angeles Lakers after eight seasons. James, 41, informed the Lakers he'll play elsewhere for his 24th NBA season, and Golden State has emerged as the favorite to land him, according to reporting from ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer. DraftKings had the Warriors at -500 to sign James as of Tuesday, an 83 percent implied probability, with the Cleveland Cavaliers a distant second at +300. A James-to-Golden-State move would reunite him with players who once stood on the opposite side of some of his most bruising playoff runs. Curry and James met in four straight NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018, splitting the series 2-2. Teaming them up now, alongside Butler, would put three of the NBA's highest career earners on a single roster, a combined total north of $1.5 billion in on-court income that no roster in league history has ever approached. Whether that roster can win at the level James is chasing remains the open question. He'd be walking into a Warriors team that missed the playoffs a season ago and is already stretching its salary structure to fit him. Golden State's front office has spent the past week proving it's willing to bend the rules of roster construction to make room. Whether James decides that room is worth the risk to his legacy is a decision that belongs to him alone, and it's expected within days.