Golden State Warriors center Kristaps Porzingis missed the start of training camp with an undisclosed health issue that has kept him away from the team, but now he's back.
Head coach Steve Kerr told reporters that Porzingis is expected to return to the Warriors' facilities Tuesday to meet with Rick Celebrini, their director of sports medicine and performance.
There's no indication of when exactly the 31-year-old will return.
"No update beyond that," Kerr said. "He'll be in the building ... meeting with Rick and the performance team."
Kristaps Porzingis injury update
Porzingis was acquired by the Warriors in February via a deal with the Atlanta Hawks, but since he's only appeared in 15 out of 27 possible regular-season games after the trade. He's been out at various times with a lingering
respiratory illness that causes a dramatic increase in heart rate upon standing, severe fatigue, and dizziness.
Porzingis was brought in to answer Golden State's issues at the center position, giving them more size and versatility to defend the interior against other bigs in the league or penetrating perimeter players. He signed a two-year, $40 million contract extension in June, reaffirming his commitment to the Bay Area.
Whether or not he will have a starting position upon his return isn't the topic of conversation. The Warriors' first order of priority is a checkup on the 7-foot-2, former All-Star and NBA champion. They want to know how he is doing, how he feels and if he's ready.
"All of that will be determined once we get him back here and have discussions, figure out where he is, all that stuff," Kerr said of Porzingis being a starter.
The Warriors face the Los Angeles Lakers in a preseason meeting at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In the meantime, Porzingis's status remains unknown.
Until Porzingis returns, it's small ball in the Bay. Kerr said he is leaning towards a starting lineup of Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos, Yaxel Lendeborg and Draymond Green. However, he added that Al Horford could also be a potential starter at center playing 20 minutes a game but likely will have him come off the bench.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kristaps Porzingis injury updated, expected to be seen by Warriors medical staff
