Kristaps Porzingis was ranked as the fourth most overrated player in the NBA by Bleacher Report’s Greg Schwartz, who called the Warriors' choice to execute the trade a “foolish decision.”
Atlanta Hawks fans had bittersweet emotions when Porzingis was traded for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield. On paper, this is quite the blockbuster trade. Porzingis is a former All-Star and champion whose statistical impact compares with some of the best centers in the league. Kuminga was a top 10 pick just five years ago, and Buddy Hield is one of the most prolific sharpshooters in NBA history.
Of course, basketball isn’t played on paper. Kuminga has received a disturbing amount of DNP-CDs for a player making over $20 million, while Hield looks well past his prime.
For Golden State’s side of the trade, Porzingis has played in just 17 games this season, and nine of these games came in Atlanta’s first 12 matches of the season. Simply put, the Unicorn ran out of magic. Hopefully, he can find his footing after yet another extended absence, but the odds seem unlikely.
Porzingis’s health prevents him from being an impactful player
It’s not fair that Porzingis has suffered what he has. His first three years were straight out of a Disney movie, rising from a player who was booed by his own fans on draft night to an All-Star to the face of one of the most iconic franchises in the NBA.
Then he tore his ACL and missed his entire fourth season. He would never play over 65 games in a season again, and logged just 99 games over his two seasons in Boston. But he isn’t just suffering from lower-body injuries anymore; he developed POTS, a chronic cardiovascular condition, which has sapped the big man of his energy.
His 17 games this season account for a dismal 31% of the possible games his teams have played, and these absences have come both due to illness (speculated by some to be POTS-related) and injury.
Regarding the rationale for the Warriors’ trade, Schwartz said, “After already losing Jimmy Butler for the season with a torn ACL, the Warriors putting their eggs in the Porzingis basket was a foolish decision that won't get them anywhere in the postseason, should they even make it that far.”
Atlanta was burned for acquiring Porzingis – and they didn’t even put all their eggs in one basket. The club had Onyeka Okongwu backing KP up, which was quite a potent 1-2 punch in the limited time they shared together. But Porzingis ultimately was not fit to play regularly, and the Hawks were left with a hole at center they couldn’t fill.
There is a chance Porzingis can find his footing in Golden State, but this seems rather unlikely given his Atlanta tenure. Hawks fans can breathe a sigh of relief as they received a potentially talented player for the fourth-most overrated player in the league.