Grading Warriors' Decision to Extend Kristaps Porzingis' Contract

The Golden State Warriors extended Kristaps Porzingis' contract for two years and $40 million with a player option in the second season.

That seemed like a great contract for Porzingis when it was first announced, but then on Tuesday it was revealed that only $3 million of 2027-28 salary is guaranteed before June 29, 2027.

The Warriors can release him before that date and save $17.5 million on their 2027-28 cap sheet.

So with that in mind, I grade the Warriors' decision to extend Porzingis, with the contract structure baked into the grade.

Compromises in Contract Negotiations

This contract negotiation was always going to be fascinating, and it's easy to see that both sides had to compromise on certain aspects.

The first win for the Warriors is Porzingis is immediately tradable because this was a contract extension instead of a re-signing. Had he been re-signed with his Bird rights, he wouldn't have been trade-eligible for several months.

Who knows if that optionality will help the Warriors on the trade front. Maybe a perfect fit will come available between now and November, and the Warriors will be able to pounce with Porzingis as part of the package. As a quick aside, the Warriors can actually release Porzingis over the next few days and be charged only $3 million on their 2026-27 cap sheet. They very likely won't do that, but it's an emergency option in their LeBron James plan.

The biggest win for Porzingis is the average annual value of the contract. It's higher than I would have expected for a player who has missed 90 regular-season games over the last two seasons.

But one could argue the Warriors don't mind this much, as his projected $19.5 million 2026-27 salary could be a perfect bridge for trade targets. If he signed for a lot less, they would have a harder time going for some of their potential targets in the $20 million to $30 million range.

As for the $3 million guarantee for 2027-28, I'd call that more of a win for the Warriors than Porzingis, but Porzingis' agency could argue it's better to have that than, say, a team option in which nothing is guaranteed.

Grading the Porzingis Move

I have my doubts about Porzingis' projected impact with the Warriors. There's a chance he simply doesn't see the court enough to justify a $19.5 million salary.

But the bottom line is the Warriors had to do it.

The alternative was losing Porzingis for nothing, as I seriously doubt anyone was going to sign-and-trade for him, which requires a minimum contract of three seasons.

Instead of letting him walk, the Warriors preserved the asset.

As I wrote the night of the trade, I wish the Warriors would have used the Jonathan Kuminga salary (with high-value draft capital) to acquire a better player than Porzingis.

He's a dynamic offensive player, but he has significant issues defending in space.

Even when he's healthy, Porzingis won't always be in Golden State's closing lineup due to those defensive issues.

But again, the Warriors had no other move they could make. With or without Porzingis, they wouldn't have cap space to sign free agents. Their only non-minimum assets were the bi-annual exception (used on De'Anthony Melton) and mid-level exception. They might as well use those two exceptions with Porzingis still on the roster.

My only complaint is that the Warriors might have been competing with themselves on the $19.5 million starting salary. There's no reporting that suggests anyone was going to offer something close to that.

But everything else about this move is a win.

Grade: B+

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