Steve Kerr Says There's "Nothing New to Report" on Kristaps Porzingis, and That's the Worst Update Yet

LAS VEGAS — This morning's roundup left you with the big question for the weekend: does Kyrie Irving finally play in Macao on Sunday? The midday answer is a different question entirely, and it's uglier — because in San Francisco, the Warriors' coach just admitted, on the record, that he has no idea when his $40 million center is coming back, and the opener is 12 days away.

Kerr's "Nothing New to Report" Is the Scariest Line of Preseason

Steve Kerr was asked Thursday for any update on Kristaps Porzingis, and nothing he said was the kind of answer that calms anyone down. "He's not here today," Kerr told reporters, per the New York Post. Asked whether he's been in communication with Porzingis and knows how he's doing, Kerr said: "Yeah, we've texted. Seems to be doing okay, but we haven't gotten into depth." And when pressed for anything more concrete, per Nick Friedell's reporting in The Athletic: "I'll reach out to KP today and check in with him, but nothing new to report."

Read that again. The head coach of a team opening its season in 12 days is learning about his starting center's health situation the same way you check in on a friend from college. That's not load management. That's a medical situation nobody in the building will describe, and Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints now hears the Warriors are bracing for Porzingis to miss the start of the regular season.

The background: Porzingis missed all of training camp with what was only ever called a "health issue." He was diagnosed with POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) in 2025, but neither he nor the team has confirmed the current absence is related. Warriors officials have consistently declined to discuss his health in specific terms since they acquired him from Atlanta at last season's trade deadline — and then they signed him to a two-year, $40 million extension anyway. This is the kind of bet that looks visionary when the guy plays 60 games and catastrophic when the calendar starts doing math. The calendar is doing math.

For the full backstory on how this bet got placed, we wrote it up when the timetable first went "indefinite" earlier this week — nothing since has made it look better.

Injury Notebook: The Friday Updates That Actually Matter

The Bucks have a rookie scare. Nate Ament, the 13th overall pick, drove against Oklahoma City on Wednesday, got fouled by Cason Wallace, and landed awkwardly on his left ankle. He stayed in to shoot his free throws — 19-year-old pride — then exited and didn't return: nine minutes, three points on 1-of-7 shooting. Coach Taylor Jenkins said Friday that Ament has "a nice sprain" and the team will know more after the next 48 hours of evaluation. He'll travel with Milwaukee to Charlotte for Sunday's game. Watch this one — ankle sprains on lottery picks in week two of camp have a way of turning into month-long "precaution" stints.

Better news in Phoenix, and a rare midday resolution: Miles Bridges rolled his ankle against the Bulls on Wednesday and the morning news cycle had everyone holding their breath. By Friday, coach Jordan Ott said the X-rays came back negative and Bridges participated in practice. That's about as clean a happy ending as October injuries get — and it matters, because the Suns open October 21 in Portland and Bridges is the engine of that roster.

Two more rest days to file: Kevin Durant will not play in Sunday's Macao rematch against Dallas, per the Houston Chronicle. He put up 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting in 23 minutes in Friday morning's 135-117 win, and that was that — Houston is treating the 19-year vet like the asset he is. Sunday's game (6 AM ET at the Venetian Arena) becomes a Cooper Flagg showcase night for Dallas and a "how deep is this rotation really" test for Houston.

And in Los Angeles, the curious case of Walker Kessler continues. The Lakers' big acquisition — two unprotected firsts and two swaps to Utah, plus a four-year, $130 million deal — has missed all three preseason games after jamming his finger against the backboard in camp. JJ Redick's Friday line: "It's not concerning. He'll play in the preseason." The Lakers have two exhibitions left: the Warriors on Tuesday in Las Vegas, then the Nuggets next Friday at Crypto.com Arena. We'll believe it when we see purple and gold in the starting lineup, because the Lakers' Big Three — Luka, Reaves, Kessler — have still not shared a court. Reaves did return Thursday with 8 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists in 25 minutes against Sacramento while Luka went for 23 in 25. The finger is the holdup. In the preseason, a jammed finger keeping your franchise center out for two weeks is either extreme caution or extremely annoying. It's one of those.

Also on Friday's shelf list: three Mavericks sat out the morning's China Game against Houston — P.J. Washington (left ankle sprain), Sasser (left adductor soreness), and Martin (illness) — per RotoWire. That Washington ankle is worth a bookmark given the trade chatter swirling around him this week. And in Washington, there's cautious optimism: Alex Sarr (foot) is trending positive and Khris Middleton (rest) could play Saturday when the Wizards host the Pistons.

Embiid Nearly Took Out His Own Co-Star. In Preseason.

The funniest — and most on-brand — moment of Thursday night happened at Barclays Center, where the Nets beat the Sixers 114-108. Battling Nets big Moritz Wagner for rebounding position, Joel Embiid took a light push in the back, sold it like he was auditioning for community theater, and flopped backward — directly onto his new 76ers co-star Jaylen Brown.

Brown went down in a heap, the arena held its breath, and then — miracle of miracles — he got up, walked it off, and stayed in the game. He narrowly avoided a hyperextended knee, or worse. Embiid has taken years of grief for throwing his seven-foot frame around recklessly, and the discourse will say "classic Embiid." But doing it to your own teammate, in October, in an exhibition? The Sixers' training staff had to be thrilled. The silver lining: this is the most engaged Embiid has looked in months. The cloud: engagement shouldn't come with a casualty report.

Tonight: Grizzlies at Bulls, and That's the Whole Menu

ESPN's Friday slate is exactly one game deep: Memphis at Chicago, 8 PM ET on NBA TV from the United Center. The Bulls are laying 3.5 with a 239.5 total — preseason lines are for entertainment only, but a 239.5 tells you exactly what kind of game oddsmakers expect: nobody guarding anybody, which is preseason at its best.

What's actually worth watching: Chicago's young rotation getting another audition (the Bulls are 1-0 in the preseason), and whether Memphis treats this as a Ja Morant showcase or a depth-chart night (1-1 so far). One game, one screen, no flipping. The preseason doesn't give you many nights this simple — enjoy it, because Saturday's slate is a zoo and Sunday is back-to-back Macao with the Kyrie question hanging over everything.

Roster-Spot Watch: The Guy Playing for His Job

The Warriors' Wednesday game against Portland — the one where nearly every starter and rotation player sat — was a gift to the guys on non-guaranteed deals, and fifth-year guard Brandon Williams unwrapped it: 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting in 18 minutes, plus four assists and three rebounds. NBC Sports Bay Area's Dalton Johnson writes that Williams is making a case not just for a roster spot but for a rotation role. When your team is missing its $40 million center indefinitely, a microwave scorer on a non-guaranteed contract starts looking like found money.

Elsewhere in the margins: Atlanta sat Keshon Gilbert (left patella tendinitis), Luguentz Dort (knee) and Jalen Johnson (rest) for Thursday's 123-116 win over San Antonio. The Hawks also remain without Henri Veesaar, out for the season with a torn ACL. Nobody's panicking in Atlanta in October. Nobody should be.