Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green says the team has "moved forward" following Kristaps Porzingis' departure amid ongoing health issues.
"Since I've been here on this team, it's never been about bickering, never about 'Shame on this guy,' 'Shame on that guy,'" Green told The Athletic's Sam Amick. "We've never had that culture here. So the same goes for (Porzingis). No one's sitting around bashing this guy or even worried about him, for that matter. In our minds, we’ve moved forward with the players that we have here."
Porzingis is away from the Warriors as he deals with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). Golden State reportedly isn't making payments on Porzingis' $20-million salary this season, citing that he isn't rendering services for the first year of a two-year, $40-million extension he inked in June. The Latvian center and the National Basketball Players' Association aren't challenging the organization's decision.
"(Does) everyone in here think he can help us? Of course. We know what type of player he is. But I don't think anyone in here is sitting around waiting on him to walk through that door. Everybody’s moved on in their mindset," Green added.
Porzingis' reason for not joining the Warriors amid his health issues remains unclear to the team, Amick adds.
"When we first heard about the morning before the Laker game, it kind of jolted us a little bit," Green said about learning of Porzingis' fate prior to a 112-95 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 30.
"Like I said, everybody's moved on. It's a next-man-up mentality, right? That's an opportunity for Charles Bassey. That's opportunity for Graham Ike to get more minutes and continue to try to elevate his career. So you embrace those guys, and you pour into those guys, to try to help them with all that they can be helped with so that they could ultimately help this team."
Green added: "But you can't sit and worry about spoiled milk."
Golden State has won six straight after dropping its first three regular-season games. Green is averaging three points and five rebounds on 38.1% shooting, his lowest marks since his 2012-13 rookie campaign.
