The Warriors made a relatively big move to acquire Kristaps Porziņģis at the NBA trade deadline this season, but they’ve only been able to see a small sample size from the big man to get a feel for his fit. 

His unavailability has raised some questions about his long-term status with the team, but a 30-point performance Monday in the Warriors’ 125-117 victory over the Washington Wizards was a statement that Porziņģis still has some juice to make a difference. 

Warriors coach Steve Kerr revealed that, ideally, Porziņģis could be a big piece in the Warriors’ future, he told 95.7 The Game’s “Willard and Dibs” on Tuesday. 

“I think the whole point in trading for him a couple weeks back was that we get the end of this season to make a run to see what he can do, see what we can do with him and pair him with Steph,” Kerr explained. “And he’s an unrestricted free agent after this season, but he’s our guy, and we get to show him what we have to offer him. We get to know each other.  

“I think ideally, for everybody, he would re-sign and come back healthy and be an important player for us for many years.” 

Porziņģis has played in just five of the team’s 17 games since he was acquired via trade on Feb. 5, but his impact grows each time he steps on the court for the Warriors. Kerr noted the tools that intrigued the Warriors and other NBA teams about the 7-foot center are evident. 

But there’s still one contingency that has yet to be resolved: how does he look alongside star Steph Curry, who hasn’t played since Porziņģis’ arrival? 

“But of course, until you’ve really played with Steph, you don’t really get the perfect feel for what the Warriors are all about,” Kerr said. “Because we’re built around Steph, and Steph’s personality, his joy, his competitiveness, is really what it’s all about and what has defined us in this era.” 

Aside from how the team believes Porziņģis can perform alongside Curry, it’s also important for Porziņģis himself to discover what playing with Golden State’s superstar feels like to determine if he would want to re-sign. 

It’s why both the Warriors and Porziņģis are looking forward to Curry’s return from his knee injury, which remains undetermined. 

“We look forward to getting Kristaps some experience with Steph and feeling that vibe, feeling our crowd at Chase cheering for the team,” Kerr said. “And hopefully that’s going to happen before too long.” 

With 14 regular-season games remaining, the opportunity to see the pairing together is running out of time, but the Warriors along with Curry and Porziņģis remain hopeful. 

In his five games played, Porziņģis is averaging 17.6 points on 45.9-percent shooting in just 21.6 minutes played. 

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