When the Golden State Warriors traded for center Kristaps Porzingis from the Atlanta Hawks, they were getting a versatile big man with the ability to score inside and out. The questions surrounding Porzingis' acquisition were not about him on the court, but off it.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Kristaps Porzingis was reportedly battling postural tachycardia syndrome, a condition that causes increased heart rate, dizziness and even fatigue when going from lying down or sitting to standing. Symptoms of POTS, which are caused by a lack of blood flow to the eardrum when a person stands, may also be relieved by sitting or lying down.
Porzingis had lost 14 consecutive games for the Atlanta Hawks before being traded to the Atlanta Hawks at the NBA trade deadline for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield.
Since the trade, Porzingis has played in only one of a possible eight games for the Warriors. He was able to make his Dubs debut on February 19 against the Boston Celtics, where he scored 12 points in 17 minutes of play, but subsequently missed three consecutive games due to illness.
According to head coach Steve Kerr, however, Kristaps Porzingis is not dealing with POTS. Kerr recently spoke with Willard and Dibs, a Bay Area radio show that airs weekday afternoons, and that's where he revealed that Porzingis isn't working out with Potts at all.
“When I heard about the trade, I read about his POTS diagnosis and then called Onsi Saleh, who was with us, he's Atlanta's GM now and he's a good friend of mine,” Kerr explained. "I called him and said, 'Is this POTS story real?' And he said it's not really Potts. It wasn't Potts.' So that was some of the misinformation that was out there.
"I don't know if anyone asked him about it, but the bottom line is that whatever was bothering him in Atlanta, that was keeping him out, had nothing to do with last week's illness. He was just sick. As you guys know, there's a lot going on and he was quite sick, losing a lot of fluids and infectious substances, so we kept him at home, but he's doing much better now."
Kristaps Porzingis is believed to have been dealing with POTS for several months and it has led many to question what is really left in his NBA career. But Steve Kerr says the Warriors got confirmation that Porzingis is not dealing with POTS ahead of the trade that sent Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Hawks.
"I don't really know what's out there," Kerr said. "All I know is that we had internal discussions and I've talked to Kristaps and he told me he's feeling good and we didn't go into depth about his illness in Atlanta, but I got confirmation that it wasn't Potts, but it was something else that was really difficult to figure out and sometimes it happens, even in this modern age where we have a lot of answers, we never have all of them. Sometimes just mysterious things happen."
As of Friday night, Porzingis is listed as "doubtful" to play in Saturday night's game against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers due to illness. While Stephen Curry is listed as out with "runner's knee," Draymond Green is listed as "probable" after missing the Warriors' last game.
Porzingis has played in only 18 games so far this season between the Hawks and Warriors, averaging 16.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 blocks per game, while shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from three.
