Michael Porter Jr. is a player the Golden State Warriors were interested in acquiring before the February trade deadline, and were thinking about giving up a first-round pick to make a deal happen. As HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported on Wednesday, the Nets forward could be on the move this summer, but that doesn't mean the Warriors should reignite their interest.
Brooklyn will probably want at least one first-round pick if it makes MPJ available, and that alone could be enough to rule Golden State out. The Warriors went from being a team everyone thought would do whatever it took to acquire another star-level player this summer to one that seems to be prioritizing youth for its future.
Giving up even one pick for Porter, who will turn 28 at the end of this month, wouldn't derail their chances of doing so, but it also wouldn't make the most sense.
Warriors shouldn't think about trading first-round pick for MPJ again
Porter is coming off a season where he averaged a career-high 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.1 steals per game, but he did so on the 20-62 Nets. That doesn't mean he's not a valuable player, as we all saw how he contributed to the Nuggets when they were at their peak, but he wouldn't be the top option with the Warriors.
He is also looking for a payday as he enters the final season of his current contract, earning $40.8 million in 2026-27, a tough salary for the Warriors to match as is. Golden State wouldn't trade for him without wanting to commit to him long-term, and again, that shouldn't be the case.
His injury history gives the Warriors more reason to proceed with caution, though it's not nearly as much of a concern as it was. Porter played 52 games in Brooklyn (his lowest in four years), dealing with a hamstring injury the last few weeks of the season. Of course, it's worth noting that the Nets were tanking.
Back issues were a problem for him at the beginning of his career, which is why he missed what would've been his rookie season in 2018-19. He had a third back surgery in 2021 and played just nine games that season. MPJ played 81 games in 2023-24, and 77 in 2024-25, his last full season in Denver. Because of the injury issues the Warriors are already dealing with, though, they especially don't want to risk another.
If Porter were the missing piece that Golden State needed to recreate some championship magic with Steph Curry, the Warriors should roll the dice, but that's not the case. If he is available, the front office should do its due diligence by checking in again, though it shouldn't extend much further than that. Their future is too important.
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