Warriors faithful, I'd love to stand before you today, on the dawn of NBA trade season, with a blockbuster trade pitch in hand to deliver Trey Murphy III to the Bay Area. Frankly, Golden State's decision-makers would love that, too. He clearly has the franchise's full focus as it searches for upgrades to brighten what remains of Stephen Curry's twilight.
That's not, however, what I'm here to present. While the Pelicans might be coming to grips with the fact that their reality could require a Murphy trade, I'm unconvinced the Warriors have what it takes to win that sweepstakes. What they could do, though, is make an aggressive offer for a less-popular, but still snug-fitting swingman: Michael Porter Jr.
An audible groan might be sounding throughout the Golden State, and that's OK. Folks might hear his name and immediately bring to mind thoughts of his checkered injury history or the way he eventually clogged the cap for a Denver Nuggets team that ran out of flexibility. Those who've paid more recent attention, though, might note how he's perked up his production in Brooklyn while maintaining every bit of his efficiency.
There, he has looked, frankly, like the exact kind of scorer that the Dubs so desperately need alongside Curry. And, unlike Murphy, Golden State can actually afford him.
Lopsided trades always initially appear...well, lopsided, but think about what Golden State is actually giving up here.
Regardless how you might feel about Kuminga's potential, he isn't playing right now. Hield, conversely, is arguably seeing too much floor time given his season-long shooting woes (career-low 31.5 three-point percentage). Santos is a fringe-rotation role player who counts energy as his single biggest strength.
Moody is a real contributor, and a lightly protected first from a sub-.500 team is not an insignificant asset, but you have to give up value to get it back, right? And the Warriors would be walking away from this exchange with a pair of plug-and-play contributors.
Porter is the biggest prize, of course. He's a 6'10" net-shredder with legitimate three-level scoring skills. He may not be a 25.6-points-per-game scorer in Golden State like he has been in Brooklyn, but he could absolutely hover around 20 points per outing while converting roughly half of his field goals and 40 percent of his perimeter shots.
Oh, and those old injury issues might be a thing of the past; he made 81 appearances in 2023-24 and played 77 games this past season. He has also suited up in 21 of the Nets' first 25 games, so it's not like reliability has been any kind of issue of late. And while his salary is sizable ($38.3 million this season and $40.8 million for 2026-27, per Spotrac), it seems pretty commensurate with his production. Plus, it's set to expire after the 2026-27 season, or at the exact same time that big-dollar deals with Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green will come off of the books, too.
That feels like a price worth paying for a knockdown shooter who would take defensive attention away from Curry and feast on a lot of the same catch-and-shoot chances that Klay Thompson once did. Plus, the Dubs would be adding real size here, both in the 6'10" Porter but also the 6'10", 265-pound Sharpe, who keeps plenty active on the interior.
The Warriors should be closer to contention than their 13-14 record says they are. They have real flaws, obviously, but they also have a top-five defense and an offensive magician in Curry. That should add up to a whole lot more, and it can if the front office navigates trade season just right.