Kristaps Porzingis is returning to Warriors on a two-year, $40 million contract with a player option in the second year. The move gives Golden State a proven 7-foot-2 frontcourt piece while keeping the team in position to keep building around its cap structure.
Porzingis and Warriors
The deal was reported on June 29, 2026, and it comes after Porzingis had made between $27 million and $36 million in each of the past seven seasons. He turned 31 in August and is coming off a stretch in which availability has been the bigger issue than production.
In 32 games with the Hawks and Warriors last season, he averaged 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 blocks while shooting.446 from the field,.338 from three-point range and.842 from the free-throw line. In that same season, Golden State was 6.4 points per 100 possessions better when he was on the court, a sign the team still got impact minutes when he was available.
Golden State Cap Math
Golden State acquired Porzingis in February in a trade that sent Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to Atlanta. That matters now because the new contract is a pay cut, and the second-year player option gives Porzingis flexibility if his market changes after another season with limited health certainty.
He appeared in 42 games in one of the past two seasons and 32 in the other, and he has dealt with an illness diagnosed as POTS for the past season and a half. Even so, his on-court numbers have stayed strong enough to keep him central to Golden State's planning.
Anthony Davis and LeBron James
The Warriors are also reportedly pursuing Anthony Davis via trade and LeBron James via the full MLE. Yossi Gozlan said it is technically still possible for Golden State to land both, but that path would require trading Jimmy Butler and draft assets for Davis, dumping Moses Moody's salary, and having Draymond Green re-sign on a new deal with an identical or lower cap hit to Porzingis.
Bobby Marks said the taxpayer MLE projects to be worth $6.1 million next season, while the full MLE projects to be worth $15 million. If Golden State cannot shed Moody's salary, the team likely would not be able to use more than the taxpayer MLE, and that keeps the Porzingis deal tied directly to how far the Warriors can push their roster plans.
