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Rukkr Original NBA · GSW By The Beat Guy Oct 1, 2026

Preseason Starts Tuesday. Porzingis Still Has No Timetable.

Golden State opens preseason play this week with its starting center still unavailable and no indication of when that changes. I've written twice already about Porzingis going down before camp began — the initial news, then the silence that followed — and the silence is still the story. There's no updated timeline, no encouraging report out of practice, nothing to move the needle.

The context hasn't shifted either. The Warriors signed Porzingis to a two-year, $40 million deal specifically to address the center position — rim protection, floor-spacing, a credible interior presence alongside Curry and Green. Al Horford is here and can fill minutes, but he was signed as a veteran complement, not as the primary answer at the five. The gap between what Porzingis was supposed to provide and what's currently available is real.

What makes it harder is that this roster was already carrying uncertainty at the top. Jimmy Butler is recovering from a torn ACL with no firm return date. Curry played only 49 games last season. The supporting cast — Richard, Santos, Spencer — is young and still developing. Porzingis healthy was the piece that was supposed to be settled. Right now, nothing about the frontcourt is settled.

Preseason games won't answer the big question, but they'll at least tell us something about how the Warriors intend to cover for him in the short term. That's worth watching.

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