The Golden State Warriors figure to be among the most active NBA squads ahead of the mid-season trade deadline this winter, just as they were last year when they landed Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat.
Golden State has the type of young talent, salaries and draft pick packages to get in the conversations for the biggest names potentially available over the next two months, including Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and Anthony Davis of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Warriors can flip up to four first-round picks over the next seven seasons, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, and those selections should be valuable considering the timeline on the careers of players like Steph Curry and Draymond Green.
That said, it is not a guarantee that Antetokounmpo switches teams before next summer or that the Mavericks will decide to move Davis if Dallas can continue trending up and has a chance to be a low playoff seed in the Western Conference should Kyrie Irving return before season’s end.
None of that changes the fact that the Dubs are an aging team that struggles to score when Curry is hurt, or simply off the floor resting. Nor does it change that the longer the Warriors wait to make a big move, the less likely that deal puts them back into real contention with the top teams in the West.
As such, Bill Simmons and Rob Mahoney of the Ringer discussed on Tuesday, December 9 the possibility of Golden State getting into trade discussions involving players a rung or two below Antetokounmpo and Davis. One name that popped up was that of Brooklyn Nets sharpshooter Michael Porter Jr .
Michael Porter Has Proven Elite Shooter With Nuggets, Elite Scorer With Nets
GettyMichael Porter Jr. of the Brooklyn Nets.
Porter spent his first seven professional seasons with the Denver Nuggets , where he was the third offensive option behind Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray .
That role was a quality fit for Porter, who stands at 6-foot-10 and has connected on 40.5 percent of his career 3-point shots at an average of 6.2 attempts per game.
Now just 27 years old, the former NBA champion is in his first year with the Nets and is posting 25.8 points each night to go along with 7.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists.
Michael Porter’s Salary Complicates Warriors, Nets Trade
GettyMichael Porter Jr., formerly of the Denver Nuggets.
The biggest concern is Porter’s salary. He has two years remaining on a $179 million contract, with a base salary of $38.33 million in 2025-26.
Simmons explained why that number might make a deal difficult to accomplish for the Warriors.
“I was thinking about a Porter-Warriors kinda match, which I know [people have] floated around out there,” Simmons said . “From a money standpoint it gets a little tough, because it would have to be, like, a three-for-one and the Nets already have 100 players.”
“But conceptually, just putting Porter in that [Jonathan] Kuminga spot — somebody who’s been in big games, somebody who’s a streaky scorer, which I kinda feel like the Warriors need,” Simmons continued. “They need that one wildcard guy who can rebound a little bit. I thought that was mildly interesting.”
Kuminga would likely have to be a part of the deal, as well as Moses Moody . The Dubs could then add one of a handful of players including De’Anthony Melton or Gary Payton II to get the money close enough to match.
Brandin Podziemski would also work, though it is unlikely Golden State would want to part with Podziemski and Moody, while also throwing in one of their several first-round draft assets to secure Porter from the Nets.
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