With the status of big man Kristaps Porzingis now more clearly in focus, the Golden State Warriors only have a few options. Obviously, they need a starting-caliber center because their hopes that they could nurse some decent health out of Porzingis for long enough to get through this season are dashed–there’s some question about whether Porzingis will play again at all. It’s not easy to deal away a player who is not going to be on the floor, as the Warriors will need to offer significant enticement, either a willingness to take back a bad contract or a willingness to part with a first-round draft pick.
The Warriors also have some restrictions on what they can do on the trade market because they are hard-capped at the second apron–they can aggregate salaries, but they can’t take back more money than they send out. They could, then, package either Draymond Green (unlikely) or Moses Moody (more possible) in an attempt to add a more expensive player, like Domantas Sabonis or Myles Turner.
But whether it is Porzingis or someone else, it’s becoming more clear that the team has been eyeing in-season trades after a quiet summer.
Mike Dunleavy: Warriors Don’t Typically Do Much in the Summer
It’s worth noting that Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. has tended to be more aggressive in making moves during the NBA season than in the offseason. It’s very early now, and probably too early for a team to pull the trigger on taking Porzingis. But Dunleavy pointed out, in a podcast appearance with Tim Kawakami, that the Warriors typically do more trade business in the regular season than the offseason.
Said Dunleavy, asked about passing on “big moves” this summer: “I think we’re always looking at stuff, big, small, whatever it may be to make this team better. The reality is, that stuff’s not likely. For the Warriors, the last time a significant move was made in the offseason, was probably 10 years ago? Durant? That was a decade ago—people act like, every year we’re doing this. We won the championship in 2022 and we signed four minimum players and they were tremendous, and that was enough.
“So, like, I would love to snap my fingers and bring in the dream team. That’s not always reality.”
In-Season Deal Could Be Coming
Indeed, the Warriors did precious little this offseason and Dunleavy was roundly criticized for it. They should be able to create cap space next summer, and there is some enthusiasm for the flexibility that would give the team, but even there, Dunleavy was not rah-rah about the chances for a Warriors splash in 2027.
Again, that may mean that the focus should be on what the team can do in the immediate before the trade deadline.
Said Dunleavy: “We’ve got to do smart, prudent things to keep moving this thing forward in the right way, we have got to make sure we are doing the things in-house, player development, and cleaning up these other things. We look at everything, for sure, we imagine, we dream. But there are only so many quote-unquote big things you can do that are actually going to make a difference.
“The last thing you want to do is make some splashy move that wins the press conference and they you start the season and you’re like, wow, this isn’t that good, we have just given up all these picks, our financial flexibility is gone and, now what?”
Warriors GM Drops Hint on NBA Trade Deadline Plans