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Mike Dunleavy of the Golden State Warriors could trade for Michael Porter Jr.
For the Golden State Warriors, there is plenty of logic in the possibility of a Michael Porter Jr. trade. They need a third option who can shoot, and Porter has shown he is very capable of being a knock-down third option as a shooter, having knocked down 40.6% of his 3-pointers in his career, largely as a third option in Denver, where he helped win the Nuggets a championship in that role.
The Warriors also would like a player who could easily step into a bigger role, should they find themselves in the situation they were in last spring, when Stephen Curry injured his hamstring and the Dubs’ postseason fell apart. Golden State is built around the 37-year-old Curry, the 36-year-old Jimmy Butler and the 35-year-old Draymond Green–they know that injuries are lurking on all three.
Porter has, now in a No. 1 option role in Brooklyn, shot up to 25.9 points, without losing his efficiency (49.1% shooting, and 40.4% from the 3-point line). Drop him onto the Warriors’ roster and he would provide instant insurance.
Warriors Need to Consolidate Talent
There’s also, as one assistant coach noted, the idea that the Warriors have too many decent-but-not-great parts on hand, and that they need to press them into one, major improvement. “They’ve got so many B-minus, C-plus guys. They need to kind of consolidate and get some As,” the coach told Heavy Sports.
Porter could help the Warriors accomplish all of that. And so there has been momentum built around a trade that would send him to Golden State–but it is the momentum of logic more than the momentum of negotiation and discussions. The fact is, the Nets have been open to testing the market on Porter, but they’re keeping the price high, and they’re at least indicating that if they trade him, it could be a deal that happens in the summer.
Warriors Trade for Michael Porter Jr. Still Far Off
Teams don’t normally like trading for players entering the final year of their contract, but the Nets feel Porter’s youth (27) and the fact that he has been healthy lately (12 games missed in three years) might negate that reluctance.
The NBA’s trade deadline is February 5.
And there’s this: The Warriors do not have much that the Nets want besides draft picks. The main piece, presumably, going to the Nets in return for Porter would be Jonathan Kuminga, and Brooklyn has been lukewarm on him.
“It is hard to line up a deal between those two teams,” one NBA executive said. “Kuminga’s market, it is not great. And Porter’s market is great. Brooklyn is loaded with young guys, they’re not necessarily looking to drop Kuminga in there. They want picks, and the only way they get more than one pick is to get a third team involved, maybe a fourth.
“Something like that, with still a lot of before the deadline, it’s a long way off.”
GettyMichael Porter Jr. is in his first season with the Brooklyn Nets.
Michael Porter Jr. Not the Top Warriors Target
Still, there remains a good chance that Porter does get moved before the deadline, and that the Nets’ current wishy-washiness on making a move is just a tactic to drive up his price. The Nets would be thrilled to get two firsts for Porter, no matter how much a longshot that might be.
Whether Porter winds up with the Warriors, too, is still yet to be determined. The Dubs have other targets–they’d really like to get hold of Trey Murphy if the Pelicans backtrack and put him on the market–so they’re keeping their powder dry. There’s logic to an MPJ-Warriors swap, but it takes more than logic to make an NBA trade.
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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