Horford's Audition at Center Is Now the Only Plan Golden State Has

The Warriors built their offseason around a specific idea: Kristaps Porzingis at center, spacing the floor, protecting the rim, giving Curry and Green a modern big to work around. That idea is currently unavailable, with no timetable attached. So Al Horford — signed for leadership and shooting depth off the bench — is running the starting unit in preseason, and what looked like a bridge arrangement is starting to look like the actual plan for however long this drags on.

Horford is a capable veteran, and his shooting and IQ make him functional in this system. But he was signed to be a complementary piece, not the answer to the question the Warriors spent $40 million asking Porzingis to answer. The rim protection and floor-spacing combination that made Porzingis the offseason's architectural centerpiece isn't something Horford replicates at this stage of his career. Golden State let Quinten Post walk to Memphis specifically because they believed Porzingis solved the center position. That decision looks more consequential by the day.

The preseason gives the coaching staff time to work through this, and Yaxel Lendeborg — who earned summer league MVP honors — is another name to watch as the roster sorts itself out. But the deeper concern is what happens if Porzingis's absence extends into the regular season. This team finished 39-46 last year and missed the playoffs. The Porzingis signing was supposed to be the clearest corrective. Right now, Golden State is improvising at the position that was supposed to be settled.