The Golden State Warriors will be keeping a big piece to their squad. 

ESPN's Shams Charania reports that Kristaps Porzingis is set to return to Golden State on a two-year deal worth $40 million. There is a player option on the second year.

Porzingis was set to become a free agent on July 1. 

He was acquired by the Warriors at the 2026 trade deadline from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Buddy Hield and Jonathan Kuminga. 

In 15 games with the Warriors, he averaged 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. In the Play-In victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, he had 20 points on 8-12 shooting to go along with five rebounds and five assists. 

Porzingis earned $30 million last season, the second year of his two-year deal that he signed with the Boston Celtics in 2024. 

This deal with the Warriors does take them out of using the mid-level exception, which they were reportedly going to use to try and sign LeBron James, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent if he decides to play in his 24th season. 

It could also take them out of the running for Anthony Davis, who was reportedly a target for the team as they potentially tried to reunite LeBron and AD. 

There is still a path to add Davis and LeBron, but it just became more difficult. 

Porzingis has battled health and injuries over the years, which have limited him to just 74 games in the past two seasons combined. When he's been on the floor, he's remained a productive player who can score at all three levels, take advantage of mismatches, and provide some rim protection. 

Porzingis was acquired to help salvage the season after Jimmy Butler suffered a torn ACL in January and Curry missed over a month due to a knee injury. Jonathan Kuminga had long been on the outs in Golden State, but the Warriors wanted to remain competitive in moving him. 

Though they only played 51 minutes together, returns were good for the Porzingis and Curry pairing. They had a +15 net rating as Porzingis proved to be a great complement to Curry's movement, shooting, and playmaking. 

In 18 minutes, Curry, Porzingis, and Draymond Green had a +15.1 net rating. 

Those numbers were probably enough to take another gamble on Porzingis. 

The return of Jimmy Butler, who will hopefully be back in the second half of the season, assuming he's not traded in the offseason, will provide Golden State with three strong offensive options who can play off each other. 

Of course, much of this depends on the health of all four players, and though Porzingis is the youngest of the bunch, he'll turn 31 in August and might have the most worrisome health history of the four. 

Still, with the team looking to remain competitive and LeBron and AD looking like long shots, Porzingis is a worthy gamble.