The Golden State Warriors signed Kristaps Porzingis to a smart contract extension at the start of the week, ensuring the veteran center is still trade-eligible right now and essentially on an expiring deal given only $3 million of his 2027-28 salary is guaranteed.
Social media has already been ablaze with trade proposals involving Porzingis, but his status as the team's starting center makes him valuable to the Warriors in a way he might not be to rivals on the market, leaving a disparity that might prove difficult to overcome.
Warriors face big issue with trading Kristaps Porzingis
It's essentially the same issue the Warriors had entering free agency. They needed to bring Porzingis back because without him, the path to acquiring another starting calibre big man appeared very difficult.
While they have signed the Latvian to a two-year deal, his trade eligibility means there's still question marks over whether he actually starts next season as a Golden State player after he was acquired from the Atlanta Hawks in February.
The strong likelihood is he remains with the Warriors, largely because any trade would surely have to involve bringing back another starting center. Porzingis may not have a whole lot of value as a trade asset, but as a player you'd be taking out a key starter by trading him.
Golden State will want to manage the 40-year-old Al Horford as a reserve throughout next season, while the likes of Quinten Post and Charles Bassey aren't even contracted to the team right now, let alone be starting calibre options.
Warriors' Kristaps Porzingis trade opportunities look limited
The Warriors would have another starting big man if they pulled off a blockbuster trade for 10x All-Star Anthony Davis, yet the salary differential means it would be Jimmy Butler going in a deal rather than Porzingis. Could Golden State move Porzingis as a follow up to a Davis trade? Perhaps, but it doesn't seem like they've going to trade either Butler or Porzingis, let alone both before the season gets underway.
Could Golden State get Yves Missi back in addition to Trey Murphy III in a deal with the New Orleans Pelicans? The asking price the Pelicans are placing on both players would suggest no, and it's not as if Missi is a bonafide starter anyway.
Unless there's a move out there that comes from nowhere without any prior reported interest, it's just hard to see Porzingis being moved in the next few months. It would also be strange to trade a player soon after he's been extended, even though the Warriors have given themselves the flexibility in which to do so.
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