The Golden State Warriors are among three teams that have shown interest in Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr., per Evan Sidery of Forbes.
Sidery noted the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons have also checked in on the 6’10” forward.
Porter is having a monster season, as he’s averaging 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists. He’s shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from three, giving him an effectively field-goal percentage of 59.0. In comparison, Stephen Curry’s effective field-goal percentage is 58.7.
Porter is making $38.3 million this season and $40.8 million next season before his contract is up. That makes him one of the most expensive Golden State trade targets.
Why Porter and the Warriors Would Be a Great Match
Porter can thrive in Steve Kerr’s offense with his ability to shoot off movement and cut to the basket. He’s a lot like Klay Thompson in his offensive play style.
Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler are both great at creating high shot quality for their teammates. Porter has the ability to take advantage of that.
This is all to say that Porter would fit well with the Warriors, but if we’re being honest, he’d fit well with a lot of teams.
What makes this a great match is more about how badly Golden State needs Porter.
The Warriors are 29th in points in the paint per game, averaging just 42.5, per NBA.com. They only have three players averaging more than 4.0 PITP per game, and one of those is Jonathan Kuminga, who is essentially not in the rotation anymore.
Aside from being a great shooter, Porter averages 8.5 PITP.
He’s easily the most dynamic scorer potentially on the trade market.
In even more simpler terms, the Warriors are the only team in the NBA with only two players averaging more than 12.4 points per game. With Porter, they’d become one of only three teams with three players averaging at least 19.7 points. From a weakness to a strength overnight.
Porter would do wonders for Golden State’s 22nd-ranked offensive rating, per Cleaning the Glass.
What a Porter Trade Would Look Like
The Nets would likely have no interest in Draymond Green while they are rebuilding, so essentially any trade for Porter would start with Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, as they have the fourth- and fifth-biggest Golden State salaries.
From there, only two Warriors make enough money to complete this three-for-one trade: Buddy Hield and Al Horford.
The Nets would likely prefer to have Horford, but the Warriors would insist on completing the trade with Hield because they have less need for Hield and they’d have more cap space to refill their final two roster spots.
In all, a trade might look like this:
Warriors receive: Michael Porter Jr.
Nets receive: Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Buddy Hield, 2026 first-round pick, 2028 first-round pick
It’s a bitter pill to swallow giving up two first-round picks, including one in the year after Curry, Butler, Porter and Green are under contract.
But the Nets are likely in no hurry to trade Porter, and therefore they can wait until they get an offer like this one before pulling the trigger.
I should also point out that the trade market might force the Warriors to pay a bit more than they’d like.
If Trey Murphy III is untouchable, Porter would likely be the most valuable wing scorer available.
And if the Clippers also decide to hold onto Ivica Zubac, Porter would be the best player available making under $40 million this season.
In other words, this might be the only move the Warriors can make to supercharge their season.
So yes, it’s a lot of high-value draft capital to give up for a guy who has never been an impactful defender.
But he’s probably worth it anyway.
