Warriors’ GM Mike Dunleavy welcomes Porzingis, denies shopping Green, Butler before trade

LOS ANGELES – A few moments before 7-foot-2 Kristaps Porzingis lifted his new No. 7 Golden State jersey for the flashing cameras in downtown Los Angeles, the newest Warrior tried his hand at comedy. 

“Forty-eight minutes,” Porzingis quipped when asked how much he expected to play per night. 

An hour before tipping off against the Luka Doncic-less Lakers in Los Angeles on Saturday night, the Warriors introduced Porzingis, their lone addition from the NBA’s trade deadline. 

Golden State sent out Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks for the oft-injured Porzingis, who has played in at least 60 games only once in the past seven seasons. He has suited up only 17 times this season while dealing with Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), other various injuries and illness. 

But despite his sketchy injury history, the player, coach Steve Kerr and general manager Mike Dunleavy all expressed confidence that Porzingis can be a contributor this season. 

When he’s on the floor, Porzingis is averaging 17.1 points per game and is a career 36% 3-point shooter. Advanced stats still paint him as an elite rim protector and high-impact player.

“Obviously, we wouldn’t have made the trade if we didn’t think there was a chance he could be healthy and playing a lot for us,” Kerr said. 

Dunleavy acknowledged Porzingis’ lack of availability – he is expected to debut for the team after the All-Star break – while also taking a not-so-subtle shot at the departed Kuminga.

“There’s no guarantees and no certainties, but with where he’s at right now and where he’s been we feel good about it,” Dunleavy said. “On the other end of it, in terms of what we’re sending out, we’re sending out a player in a similar boat who struggled to stay on the floor.”

When asked about Kuminga directly, Dunleavy simply wished the young player well in Atlanta.

While he remained levelheaded when discussing the trade that occurred, Dunleavy could not help but raise his voice when asked about the team’s reported pursuit of Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

Dunleavy was adamant the team did not ask the Bucks about taking on Jimmy Butler or Draymond Green at the deadline, noting that the only time Green was discussed was when other teams inquired about the lifelong Warrior. 

“The reality is, nothing was close and nothing was considered,” Dunleavy said. “Draymond was not being shopped or talked about in deals. So it’s a little misleading, and we’re trying to pick up the pieces.”

On Green’s podcast, the Warriors player painted a different picture in an episode released about eight hours before Dunleavy spoke. 

“We talked for quite a while, and then he said ‘By the way, on the Giannis front, we’ve spoke about Giannis … if we were to do a deal for Giannis, you or Jimmy would have to be in the trade just to make it work,’ ” Green remembered during the episode. 

Despite his player saying otherwise, Dunleavy shut down a question about him including Green or Butler in a proposed package for Antetokounmpo. 

“You’re putting words in my mouth, OK, that’s an unbelievable assumption,” Dunleavy said. “No, no, no we’re not doing that. I’m not talking about going down the roster, talking about who is in trades and who’s not, we don’t do that.”

Dunleavy was more talkative about the Warriors’ flexibility in both the present and offseason, when Porzingis’ contract expires and the Warriors still possess all of their draft picks. 

“We’ve got the goods to make deals,” Dunleavy said. “I think the only way we wouldn’t be in the mix is if we gave out assets, young players, all the things we need to get a great player, and we still have all of that,” Dunleavy said. “We don’t feel like we gave up a ton, so we still have the kind of firepower to move forward and do more deals.“ 

The Warriors also still have an open roster spot, even after signing Pat Spencer to a standard contract over from a two-way deal.

After Dunleavy was finished fielding questions, Porzingis was beaming while describing how he fit into Golden State’s roster. He played with Al Horford in Boston, and has long been a fan of both Green and Steph Curry. 

“Just watching him from the outside, he’s unreal, so to play alongside somebody like that, it will be really cool,” Porzingis said of Curry. “I think it brings the level up for everybody, when you have somebody like that on your team, a special player, it just makes everybody greater.”

Kerr and Dunleavy agreed with Porzingis when he said he does not foresee debuting for the Warriors until after the All-Star break, which is when the Warriors also expect Curry to come back from runner’s knee.

Then, the Warriors will find out if Porzingis can provide a post-break boost similar to the jolt Butler gave last year when he joined Golden State, which was 28-24 heading into Saturday’s game.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to turn a new page,” Porzingis said.