ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Anthony Slater wrote on Friday that former Atlanta Hawks center Kristaps Porziņġis may not be all that popular this summer in free agency.
"He's an unrestricted free agent this summer, possessing both the talent to believe another big contract could be ahead but also a health question that has some league executives wondering whether he will have any market at all."
The Hawks turned KP into Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield before the deadline, a move that continues to look better for Atlanta. Not only does Kuminga look like a superstar (okay, that's a stretch), but Porziņġis has played only one game for the Warriors since the trade.
He's missed the past six games due to illness, a trend that began in Boston when he was diagnosed with POTS. After the trade, KP talked about how excited he was to be with the Warriors, and how he was feeling well. That changed quickly.
With a little over a month left in the regular season, there isn't a whole lot of time for Porziņġis to increase his value after it diminished the past couple of years because he's been sidelined. It could result in Golden State re-signing him at a much lower price than anticipated, which might still not work in the team's favor.
Hawks' decision to turn Porzingis into Kuminga continues to look better
Atlanta rightfully didn't extend KP before the season began, as he was coming off a 42-game season in Boston. There were questions about whether he was truly healthy, so the Hawks held off on deciding if they'd want to keep him around.
He played only 17 games before the trade, and even before that point, it didn't seem all that likely that they'd keep Porziņġis around if he made it past the deadline.
Fans knew that there was a chance that KP would be on the move, but there also didn't seem to be that much interest in him, as he hadn't played since Jan. 7 due to Achilles tendinitis. Golden State was in desperate need of another star-caliber player after Jimmy Butler tore his ACL, though, so the Warriors swooped in to acquire Porziņġis in exchange for the unhappy Kuminga.
Golden State saw flashes of what it envisioned when it traded for KP when he made his debut against Boston after the All-Star break, but that's the only game he's played in for the Warriors. Kuminga, meanwhile, was dealing with a knee injury at the time of the trade. He's played only three games since, but that's been more than enough to make everyone think the Hawks got the better end of the deal.
If Porziņġis doesn't have a market this summer, it will give Atlanta another reason to be grateful that Golden State was willing to send Kuminga its way.