Gsw coach Steve Kerr admits 'stupid mistake' on Kristaps Porziņģis' POTS diagnosis

Golden State coach Steve Kerr issued a mea culpa on Saturday after appearing to question Kristaps Porziņģis' medical issues. The gsw coach acknowledged he had made a mistake discussing the center's diagnosis and said he would leave such matters to medical professionals.

What Kerr said initially

Kerr had been asked about Porziņģis' postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, following the 7-footer's arrival in Golden State. Kerr described calling Onsi Saleh, the Hawks GM, after reading about the POTS diagnosis and asking, "Is this POTS story real?" Kerr quoted Saleh as telling him, "It's actually not POTS. " Kerr called that "some misinformation that was out there, " and said, "Bottom line is, whatever was bothering him in Atlanta that was keeping him out had nothing to do with the illness (this) week. He was just sick.... He was sick enough where he was losing a lot of fluid and contagious so we just kept him home and he's doing a lot better now. "

Saturday apology before Lakers game

A day later, speaking with reporters before Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Kerr acknowledged his error: "It was a stupid mistake by me to talk about something that I'm not qualified to talk about. I regretted even trying to discuss the diagnosis. That was my mistake. I need to leave that to professionals. " When pressed for details about what Porziņģis is dealing with, Kerr said, "It's a medical issue way behind my capabilities of explaining anything. He's sick, he won't play, we'll keep monitoring. "

Porziņģis' recent availability

Porziņģis has been a member of the Warriors for more than three weeks, but has only played one game since being acquired at the trade deadline from the Atlanta Hawks. He made his Golden State debut on Feb. 19 after dealing with an Achilles injury at the time of the trade, which delayed that debut. He missed the three games after that debut with an illness and had missed three straight games due to "illness" up to Friday. He missed a fourth straight game Saturday against the Los Angeles Lakers, a 129-101 loss, one day after he returned to practice. Kerr noted an appearance in Monday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers was a possibility.

Health context and past comments

Porziņģis, a 7-footer, revealed he had dealt with POTS while playing for the Boston Celtics in last year's playoffs. POTS is described as a non-life-threatening blood circulation disorder in which a number of symptoms can emerge when the subject stands up. In October, Porziņģis described how POTS had impacted him: "It hit me, and it hit me like a truck, " he said. "The breathing wasn't good. I did everything I could potentially to feel as good as I could, but my engine wasn't running the way I wanted. "

Team view and other injuries

Kerr has said the organization would not have made the move to acquire Porziņģis before the trade deadline if it did not believe he could stay healthy. Kerr expanded on why the team felt comfortable acquiring the 30-year-old big man, who has played just 60 games over the last two seasons because of health issues. Since coming to the Warriors, Porziņģis has praised the team's training staff and repeatedly stated he feels confident he can stay healthy, though it remains unclear when he will return to play.

Notes on Stephen Curry

Kerr also said he has had conversations with injured star Stephen Curry but does not know when the 37-year-old will be back on the floor. Curry has been dealing with runner's knee for the past mont; unclear in the provided context.

Steve Kerr's swift apology shifted the conversation from speculation about a diagnosis to a reminder that medical matters are for clinicians, while Porziņģis' availability will be monitored as the team weighs upcoming games.