The Atlanta Hawks sent Kristaps Porziņġis to the Warriors late Wednesday night for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield. Golden State wanted to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo to put the team in the best position to win another title with Steph Curry. Discussions with Milwaukee never advanced, so it landed on KP, a decision Hawks fans know can quickly go south.
Porziņġis, when he's on the floor, is worth having around, but the first part of this sentence is the issue. He played only 17 games for Atlanta. It has been almost a month since he played in a game. The last time suited up for the Hawks was on Jan. 7, missing the past few weeks with Achilles tendinitis.
Anthony Slater of ESPN reported shortly after the trade that the Warriors "anticipate Porziņġis will make his return soon after joining Golden State." They "hope" that he will be "healthy and productive for the stretch run." His history says otherwise.
The Hawks didn't extend him before the season started, as he was coming off a season where he played only 42 games due to what was dubbed a mystery illness. They kept him knowing he was headed toward free agency, wanting to see what he could do. Unfortunately, the illness he's dealt with over the past year plus continued to keep him sidelined.
Hawks fans know Kristaps Porziņġis can't stay on the court
Atlanta acquired KP (plus a second-round pick) for a relatively low cost over the summer, sending Georges Niang to the Celtics and Terance Mann and the No. 22 pick in the draft to the Nets. It seemed like the Hawks would be contenders in the East, not just because of the Porziņġis trade, but by no means did they make the trade out of desperation.
You can say that the Warriors did, as the clock is ticking on Curry's NBA career. He's still playing at a high level at 37 (he'll be 38 next month), but Father Time will come knocking sooner rather than later. It's why Golden State made a "pick-heavy" offer to Milwaukee for Giannis, per Shams Charania, as the front office wants to win now.
If KP, who stands at seven-foot-two, can stay healthy, he will make the Warriors better. He's a three-level scorer who protects the rim. He and Curry should have fun in the pick-and-roll.
Golden State has already been burned by injuries this season, though, with Jimmy Butler out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Curry is dealing with patellofemoral syndrome (aka runner's knee), and didn't play in Tuesday's game against Philadelphia. He's day-to-day, at least.
To be able to make some noise in the West and possibly make it out of the play-in tournament, the Warriors will need everyone, especially Curry, to be as healthy as possible and at their best. Maybe that will happen for Porziņġis, but Golden State shouldn't get its hopes up too much.