Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has expressed regret over his comments about Kristaps Porzingis’ medical woes.
Porzingis has played in only one game since the Warriors acquired him from the Atlanta Hawks before the Feb. 5 trade deadline. He was out again on Saturday due to what the team labeled as an illness, referring to Porzingis’ ongoing battle with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).
Per the Cleveland Clinic, POTS is a non-curable condition that causes a person to experience palpitations, dizziness, and fatigue when transitioning from lying down to standing up.
On Friday, Kerr appeared on a Bay Area radio show and revealed he had called Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh about Porzingis’ condition. According to a report from ESPN’s Anthony Slater, Saleh supposedly told Kerr that “it’s actually not POTS” and described the diagnosis as “some misinformation that was out there.”
When asked about Porzingis’ health on Saturday, Kerr stated he was not qualified to discuss the issue and called his radio show comments a “stupid mistake.”
“I can’t really say anything more on it,” Kerr said, via Slater. “It’s a medical issue way beyond my capabilities explaining anything. He’s sick. He won’t play. We’ll keep monitoring him.
“… It was a stupid mistake by me to talk about something I’m not qualified to talk about. Even trying to discuss the diagnosis, that was a mistake. I need to leave that to professionals.”
Porzingis has been dealing with an illness since his final months with the Boston Celtics last season. The details surrounding his medical issues have been murky since then, and even Kerr seems befuddled by what’s been bothering his Latvian big man.
With the Warriors’ season seemingly going nowhere, Kerr has raised more than a few eyebrows with some of his comments this season.
Porzingis remains out for the Warriors’ Monday game against the Los Angeles Clippers, marking his fifth straight contest sidelined due to illness.
