Warriors’ Kristaps Porziņģis stepping away from basketball to deal with ongoing health issues

Golden State Warriors big man Kristaps Porzingis announced Friday that he has "made the decision to prioritize my health and step away from the game I love" as he continues to deal with mysterious health issues. It's unclear when, or if, the 31-year-old Porziņģis will return to the court.

Porziņģis has not played for the Warriors this season and reports earlier this week indicated that the team is withholding payments from him. He signed a two-year, $40 million deal with the Warriors in free agency this summer, but the second year of the deal only has a $3 million guarantee.

Here is Porziņģis' full statement announcing his decision to step away from basketball:

This season I was really looking forward to running it with this group, but as I ramped up, my body didn't respond the way I anticipated.

I'm doing good, but I know what it takes, and I'm not where I want to be to perform at the level that I expect from myself. At this point, I've made the decision to prioritize my health and step away from the game I love.

In this situation, I want to show the utmost respect for the Golden State Warriors…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/