Would you believe that Kristaps Porzingis graded out as one of the better players in the NBA last season? It’s true. Porzingis ranked No. 50 in the league in Estimated Plus-Minus and nearly cracked the top-25 in LEBRON, which are a pair of metrics that measure a player’s impact with some luck adjustments and player tracking data built in. Every all-in-one stat is going to have blindspots and needs to be taken with a large grain of salt, but both teams Porzingis played for last season — the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors — were much better with him on the court in his 32 total games, and that’s no coincidence.

Porzingis showed the whole world how good he could be on the Boston Celtics’ run to the 2024 NBA championship, when his combination of outside shooting and rim protection made him the rare center who could space the floor to the max without giving much back on defense. Porzingis’ effectiveness hasn’t been much of a question since his career-defining season in Boston, but his availability has been. Unfortunately, Porzingis remains out for the Warriors as they begin the 2026-27 season, and now the team appears ready to move on without him.

The Warriors are exploring trade packages for Porzingis as he deals with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), a nervous system disorder that causes dizziness, brain fog, chronic fatigue, and other unwanted symptoms. Porzingis is “contemplating his future in basketball” according to ESPN insider Shams Charania.

Speculation on Porzingis’ rampant health problems dating back to the Celtics’ 2024 playoff run had grown so out of control that the 31-year-old felt obligated to put out a pair of statements clarifying that doesn’t have AIDS or HIV last week. Now his NBA career might be over as the Warriors scramble for a backup plan.

The biggest story here is the premature end of Porzingis’ career for health problems entirely out of his control. It’s an incredibly sad development for such a talented player who had so much promise early in his career, and appeared to find renewed value after being dumped to the Washington Wizards in 2022. This is also deeply disappointing news for the Warriors, because it’s going to be tough to find another player who can approximate his skill set without adding the type of valuable future assets Golden State has resisted including in other deals.

What team would trade for a player who might be finished? Porzingis’ contract could still make him valuable around the league depending on a few factors. He only has $3 million guaranteed for next season, but counts for $20 million in a trade. If another team was looking to dump a player they don’t want around anymore with long-term money on the books, they might be incentivized to trade for Porzingis and then just cut him while stomaching the $3 million next season.

Let’s say the Milwaukee Bucks decide that they just want Myles Turner off the books as he enters the second season of a four-year, $109 million deal. The Warriors could take Turner, the Bucks could take Porzingis, and then Milwaukee could waive him to save some money. The Chicago Bulls could build a similar trade around Patrick Williams, who has three years remaining on his contract as this season begins.

The Turner idea in particular could sound good in theory, but it takes two sides to make a deal, and the Warriors don’t have much leverage. Golden State’s only real backup center is Al Horford, who is 40 years old. Charles Bassey is around too, but he’s never been counted on for more than a small role. Losing Quentin Post to the Memphis Grizzlies over the summer in free agency was a tough blow, and now the Warriors seem like they’re totally out of options in the front court unless they want to part with a meaningful asset.

Warriors lead executive Mike Dunleavy is already on the record saying fixing the team’s center problem is “not as simple as hey, let’s go find someone new” with 15 players already on the roster. Golden State is already without Jimmy Butler as he recovers from a torn ACL, and Moses Moody as he tries to come back from a ruptured patellar tendon. That’s $90 million in salary not in the lineup to start the year.

This is no way to build around Stephen Curry in his age-38 season. Rookie forward Yaxel Lendeborg looks amazing, but it’s hard to win without a reliable center, and the Warriors are being immediately put in a compromising position.

This is a bummer of a story. Let’s hope Porzingis can find peace after basketball if this really is it for his career.