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The Golden State Warriors are 15-15 and some trades are presumably on the horizon. While acquiring a superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo seems to not be in the cards prior to this season’s trade deadline, the Warriors need to find a significant upgrade or two if they want to be a relevant Western Conference contender. As the deadline nears, it’s hard to make a case that anyone is a better fit than Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr.
Sam Esfandiari of The Light Years podcast was the first person I heard pointing to Porter as a good fit with the Warriors. My first reaction was admittedly skeptical, primarily from my distaste for the way Porter has talked about women and other politics in the past. However, as I’ve continued trying to figure out how the Warriors can best address the team’s weaknesses prior to the deadline, there are several reasons he should be one of general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr’s top targets.
1. He’s an elite shooter
Porter has always been an elite shooter. He was a career 40.6% three-point shooter in Denver on six attempts per game. Just as importantly, he still made threes at an above-average 37.4% rate in the postseason on a nearly identical volume (5.9 per game). However, it was worth wondering if his shooting efficiency would take a hit in Brooklyn without Nikola Jokić.
Instead, Porter has maintained excellent efficiency at an even higher volume. Porter is currently shooting 40.0% from three on more than nine attempts per game. During his last season in Denver, Porter made 44.2% of his wide open three-point attempts and 40.2% of his open looks. This season, he’s shooting 42.1% from three when wide open and 44.8% when open.
For a Warriors team that desperately needs shooters that can make defenses pay for focusing on Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler (or ignoring Draymond Green), Porter would be the best pure shooter in Golden State since Klay Thompson left the team. Golden State understandably hoped Buddy Hield could be that second pure shooter next to Curry to unlock the offense, but Hield’s shooting struggles have pushed him out of the rotation and created a massive need in the rotation. A need that few players could address better than Porter.
2. He would lessen Draymond Green’s role
Even before Draymond’s blowup with head coach Steve Kerr in Monday night’s blowout win over the Magic, Green continued offensive decline has been an obvious impediment to Golden State’s offense. Acquiring a player that could push Green to the late-career Andre Iguodala role off the bench would likely be best for both him and the team. A starting lineup of Steph Curry, Brandin Podziemski or Moses Moody, Jimmy Butler, Porter, and Quinten Post would surround Butler with three elite three-point shooting threats and should have more than enough size and rebounding acumen to hold up defensively.
Porter would also be able to spell Butler and play alongside Draymond, helping to space the floor to counter the way defenses try to take advantage of Green’s weaknesses. Kerr could utilize Steph and Porter together as much as possible to strain defenses or could rely on Porter’s spacing to help the offense when Curry is on the bench. Either way, it’s easy to see how Porter would fit in lineups alongside the Dubs current core pieces.
3. He isn’t just a shooter, he’s a scoring threat too
Moving from Denver to Brooklyn, a notably larger proportion of Porter’s shots have come this season after having the ball for at least two seconds (38.2% of his shots compared to 31.9% last season), a sign that he’s been tasked with more on-ball creation. Porter has been less efficient on those attempts, as to be expected, but he’s still been a solid 47.0% shooter from the field (35.5% from three).
While he’s far from exceptional in those situations, Porter would be a real secondary scoring threat outside of Curry and Butler. By comparison, Moody is shooting just 36.4% from the field in those situations (2-for-11 from three).
4. He’s an excellent rebounder
Porter’s defensive weaknesses have been well documented. His early-career back injuries limited his athleticism and mental lapses have kept him from being a great defensive player. Porter’s history in a playoff environment also makes it hard to imagine the Warriors will be able to unlock another level to his defensive game like they did with Andrew Wiggins. Still, Porter has always been an excellent rebounder. He has never averaged fewer than 6.8 rebounds per 36 minutes in a season during his career and has averaged at least 7.0 rebounds per game in each of the past three seasons (7.4 so far this year).
While the Warriors have been a top-five defense in the league for most of the season, they have consistently struggled on the glass. They rank among the league’s 10 worst teams in nearly every rebounding statistic and currently rank 25th in adjusted rebounding chance %. The fact that Porter is a legitimate 6’10 forward plays a huge role in his rebounding productivity, and that size would be extremely helpful for a Warriors roster that is notably undersized.
5. His contract will limit his trade market
Porter’s championship pedigree, shooting acumen, and size would make him an excellent fit on a long list of contenders. However, the Indianapolis native is viewed as a secondary piece on a contending team and is in the penultimate season of a five-year, $179.2 million contract that makes it unappealing for many contenders to acquire him under the current CBA.
For the teams that are interested and able to trade for Porter, it’s hard to imagine any front office offering multiple first-round picks or premium prospects unless they are also offloading a bad contract in the deal. For a Warriors team that has been hesitant to trade more than a single first-round pick in a deal AND that has Jonathan Kuminga and Moody on team-friendly contracts, they seem incredibly well positioned to make Brooklyn the best offer.
Kuminga, Moody, and Buddy Hield (who has just $3 million of guaranteed money left on his deal at the end of the season), would be sufficient outgoing salary for Golden State to acquire Porter, convert Pat Spencer to an NBA contract, and sign an additional player to fill out the roster. It’s easy to imagine those players paired with the Dubs 2026 first-round pick.
While that deal seems like the most likely scenario, perhaps with a third team that is high on Kuminga getting involved, the Warriors could also try to pair Kuminga (and Hield) with Green if they decide moving on from Draymond is actually the team’s best path forward. It seems unlikely that the Dubs would go in that direction, but is worth noting.
Regardless, the point remains that Porter would seem to solve a lot of the Warriors biggest problems without forcing them to go all-in for a team that is ultimately around .500. Should Golden State be more aggressive? Perhaps, but it’s hard to see a better potential fit coming available than Michael Porter Jr.