The bind that the Golden State Warriors are in with the contract of defunct NBA center Kristaps Porzingis is well known by now. They have a $40 million, two-year deal with Porzingis, whose ongoing illness will all but certainly keep him from playing this season, and they need to find a replacement for him as soo as they possibly can. Their position is helped by the fact that Porzingis’ contract is only guaranteed for $3 million next season, which means the team the Warriors send him to has a big opportunity to slash some payroll. But the rest of the league is in no hurry to make deals just two weeks into the new season, not while teams still are trying to be competitive.
The Warriors are seeking a trade but will have to find a balance between getting help now and being patient enough to let the market develop so they can get the best fit. Either way it plays out, though, they’re already laying the groundwork on potential targets.
Warriors Pursuing a Jalen Smith Trade
One of those is Bulls center Jalen Smith, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. One issue for the Warriors there is that, though Smith busted out as a No. 10 overall pick in Phoenix, he has had a second-career resurgence as a good role-playing big man who can shoot and run to the rim. He is in the final year of a three-year deal worth $27 million, putting him at $9.4 million this season, making him an attractive target for size-starved teams around the league. The Bulls have little incentive to trade him now–they want the market to develop.
But, Fischer writes: “The Warriors have called Chicago, sources say, because the Bulls theoretically offer a potential short-term answer: Jalen Smith. The 26-year-old has some floor-spacing ability and is earning roughly half of what Porziņģis is making this season at $9.4 million on the final season of a three-year, $27 million contract.”
Smith is averaging 11.0 points and 7.8 rebounds this season, though he is struggling as a stretch 5 with just a 28.2% mark from the 3-point line (he shot 37.3% last year). He injured his hand against the Knicks on Wednesday, and did not return to the game.
Warriors Pursuing Trade for Coveted Former Top 10 Pick: Report