The trade deadline is less than a month away, and the Dubs have every incentive to make a move to positively alter their season outlook.
Considering Jonathan Kuminga can’t be moved until Jan. 15, it makes sense why the franchise has been playing the waiting game thus far. Once Kuminga is officially trade-eligible, Golden State won’t have an excuse to enter the second half of the year with the same roster.
CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn predicts the Dubs will soon trade for Brooklyn Nets star Michael Porter Jr.
“Porter is one of the more interesting trade candidates of the season,” Quinn wrote Monday. His injury history and relatively newfound stardom make him a high-risk addition. But shooting and size are prized traits, and Porter has both.”
“He's gettable at a lower price than some of the other players on this list, but if he keeps playing this well into the deadline, that price is only going to get higher. The true max salary players on the market are too expensive for the Warriors to land without gutting their team just by matching salary, but Porter is a bit more manageable.”
“The Warriors could get him while keeping (Stephen) Curry, (Jimmy) Butler and Draymond Green, giving them a pretty interesting four-man core that pairs Butler and Green's defense and grit with elite shooting from Curry and Porter.”
One could argue that Porter Jr. Would be the best fit for the Warriors this season on the trade market. Curry hasn’t had a reliable splash brother by his side since Klay Thompson left the franchise in 2024 (Buddy Hield has been far too inconsistent to earn that title).
With Porter in the fold, Curry and the Warriors’ three-point shooting would instantly improve, giving them a more high-powered offense and a potential championship run.
Porter, who won a championship with the Denver Nuggets in 2023 as the franchise’s No. 3 scoring option, is averaging 26.1 points per game on 49.5% field goal shooting and 41.1% three-point shooting with the Nets this season.
Quinn’s trade idea for the Warriors is as realistic as it gets in early January.
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