Steve Kerr Admits Kristaps Porzingis' Absence Caught Warriors 'Off Guard' Ahead of Training Camp

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr admitted that the team was surprised by Kristaps Porziņģis' absence to begin training camp.

"We were definitely caught off guard by it in that we were in communication with him over the summer, and it seemed like everything was in a good place right up until training camp," Kerr said during a Thursday appearance on 95.7 The Game's Willard & Dibs (h/t Dylan Grausz of NBC Sports Bay Area). "And then obviously things went south. Since the start of camp, when he was not here and we had to move forward, I haven't given it a whole lot of thought to be honest, because we're just busy. We have to take every single day and get our team ready for the next game."

"The days are full, the schedule is full, and so I check in with Kristaps occasionally to see how he's doing," he added. "But we're moving forward, and that's all we can do. I like our young bigs, Graham [Ike] and Charles [Bassey]. We're excited about playing those guys, and the opportunity that they're going to receive, but everything else is not my jurisdiction. That's Mike's [Dunleavy] and the front office's, and I just come to practice and I look forward to coaching the guys every day. We're competing and seeing what we can put together."

Porziņģis agreed to a new two-year contract worth $40 million with Golden State this summer, although Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. revealed that the big man would be out indefinitely to start training camp due to a health issue on Sept. 28.

Just over two weeks later, the team announced that Porziņģis remained sidelined indefinitely due to a "health-related matter."

ESPN's Shams Charania reported Oct. 21 that Golden State had started exploring trades for the 31-year-old, who was "seriously contemplating his future in basketball" due to lingering effects from his postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).

Porziņģis has only suited up in 15 contests for the Warriors since they acquired him in a Feb. 4 trade with the Atlanta Hawks.

His availability has been hampered by health issues in recent years, appearing in just 247 of a possible 415 games since the start of the 2021-22 season.