Mess in the NBA: the Warriors refuse to pay Porzingis his salary

New chapter in Porzingis case and, in this case, one that brings controversy. According to ESPN, the Golden State Warriors are not paying the Latvian center the biweekly payments of the 20 million dollars that he has to receive this season, since the Bay Area franchise is taking advantage of the fact that the 31-year-old interior is not providing his services.

Kristaps Porzingis already missed the season due to a health problem that will keep him out indefinitely and that would even make him consider retiring from the game. professional basketball.

The interior trained at CB Sevilla has been dealing for a year and a half with the so-called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), a chronic disorder that consists of a disorder of the autonomic nervous system that has, among other symptoms, a sudden increase in heart rate accompanied by dizziness and extreme fatigue. However, neither the Warriors nor the player himself have confirmed that this specifically is the health problem that Porzingis is going through.

According to ESPN, neither the player nor the NBA Players Association (NBPA) have plans to challenge the lack of payments.

Logically, an injured or sick player continues to receive his salary even if his leave is extended, but there is a specific reason that the Warriors rely on to argue that Kristaps Porzingis is not providing his services.

Golden State issued a statement before the start of training camp stating that the star would still be with the team while he recovered, but Porzingis stopped showing up at the franchise’s facilities and has not returned, so his status has gone from “general illness” to “not with the team.”

The change was made on purpose by the Warriors and makes his absence with the team is no longer justified.

However, Golden State has no plans to void Porzingis’ contract in order to maintain the flexibility to trade him until the February 11. The Warriors want to get something for the transfer of the center and the advantage is that his contract is very acceptable when it expires in June, although the interior has a player option to extend the link for one more season for 20 million.

The team that receives Porzingis can open salary space at the end of the season with his contract expiring or open an additional roster spot via buyoutalthough another incentive to incorporate the Latvian is that the Warriors offer a draft pick.

There has recently been another case of a franchise withholding payment of a player’s salary, although under very different circumstances. The Miami Heat did not pay Terry Rozier his salary payments as he is under federal investigation for involvement in the NBA betting scandal.

One arbitrator determined that the player should collect his salary so that in July another arbitrator ruled that the player must return a large part of said salary for his participation in the aforementioned betting matter.