Michael Porter Jr. has been linked to a number of teams this trade season, but ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel currently has only two teams with concrete interest in Brooklyn’s 6’10” scoring wing.
Responding to a question on X, Siegel wrote that the Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks are the two teams.
Another X user asked if the Detroit Pistons are in the MPJ chase, and Siegel replied, “I haven’t heard anything to suggest such, but you never know.”
There are more than three weeks left until the Feb. 5 trade deadline, so there’s plenty of time for other teams to enter the mix.
But if it ends up being a two-horse race between Milwaukee and Golden State, what does that mean for the Warriors’ chances?
Golden State Can Beat Milwaukee’s Best Offer
The Bucks have traded control of all of their first-round picks until 2031. The only firsts they can trade are a 2031 swap and an unprotected 2032 first.
The Warriors have rights to their next seven first-round picks. Their 2030 first would go to the Wizards if it lands between 21-30, but that shouldn’t stop the Nets from having interest in it, as they would be banking on the Warriors not being one of the 10 best teams in the NBA when Stephen Curry is in his 40s.
Even if Golden State gets intel that the Bucks are putting both of their picks on the table, the Warriors can beat it by giving away two unprotected firsts or even giving up one unprotected first and two swaps.
What the Bucks have that the Warriors don’t is an ascending young player on a dirt-cheap contract in Ryan Rollins.
The former Warrior is averaging 17.0 points and 5.6 assists and shooting 41.2 percent from three. He’ll make just $4 million next season before likely opting out of the final year of his contract.
I doubt the Bucks want to trade arguably their second-best player, but if they feel it’s the only way to get Porter, they might put him on the table.
That would complicate things for the Warriors.
The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer reported that Brooklyn “has not shown much interest in acquiring Jonathan Kuminga dating to last summer.”
If the Nets wanted Kuminga, the Warriors would be the massive front-runners for MPJ. But if the Nets are lukewarm on the players they’d be getting from the Warriors—likely Kuminga, Moses Moody and Buddy Hield—they might want either a) more draft compensation or b) a third team that would take on Kuminga for things they want.
This is all to say that if the Warriors get intel that Rollins, the 2031 swap and the 2032 first are part of Milwaukee’s package, Golden State might have to give up a combination of three first-round picks and swaps to win the MPJ sweepstakes.
