Warriors Have Only One Good Solution to Kristaps Porzingis Dilemma

The Golden State Warriors have several options with Kristaps Porzingis, and each comes with its own downsides.

Some have speculated that the Warriors should sign-and-trade him, but they would have to attach first-round draft capital to their package for any quality target, which probably wouldn’t be worth it. Also, anyone who agrees to a sign-and-trade must have a contract length of at least three seasons, and many teams might be hesitant to take on a 30-year-old Porzingis for that long.

Others have suggested the Warriors let him go for nothing because of his injury/illness history. The Dubs are desperate for talent and don’t have cap mechanisms to go after the best free agents, so letting him walk isn’t a smart plan.

That leaves simply re-signing him, which is the best solution. But it’s imperative that the Warriors get the contract length correct.

Warriors Should Sign Porzingis to 2-Year Deal

We’ll talk about how much he should get in a bit, but that’s actually not as interesting as the term of the deal.

The Warriors have two motivations to weigh when negotiating with Porzingis. The first is simply getting him back because they need him. The second is getting him under a contract that could be tradable down the line.

If the Warriors sign Porzingis to a one-year deal (or a two-year deal with an option for the second season), he would be able to veto any trade.

So the ideal length of contract to make Porzingis tradable is actually two guaranteed years with no options.

The Warriors could then use Porzingis’ contract in trade talks at the 2027 deadline. He would not be able to veto a trade. If the acquiring team is a rebuilder, it might not want Porzingis for 1.5 seasons, but that’s more palatable than it would be if it were a sign-and-trade situation.

Total Contract Value Should Be About $15 Million Per Season

The best cap mechanism for the Warriors to improve this offseason is the non-taxpayer mid-level exception worth about $15 million.

The issue for the Warriors is they won’t have access to all of it if they overpay Porzingis.

As I wrote here, if Porzingis signs for $20 million AAV and Draymond Green takes a pay cut, they could use the full amount of the NTMLE, but they would be so up against the first apron that they’d have to fill out the rest of their roster with veteran minimum contracts from players with little-to-no experience.

That’s why getting Porzingis to sign for about two years and $30 million would be ideal.

At that price, the Warriors could a) get Horford back on his player option and use their entire NTMLE or b) re-sign Gary Payton II and Quinten Post and use their entire NTMLE.

This is why every detail matters with the Porzingis contract.

Now, if the Warriors sign Porzingis to a one-year deal, that wouldn’t be a disaster. It would mean they likely won’t be able to trade him during the season, but at least they wouldn’t be losing him for nothing.

But still, the ideal contract is a two-year deal worth about $30 million. It’s not so long that the Warriors would feel like they made a crushing mistake if Porzingis has more injury and illness issues, and it’s ideal for a midseason trade.