With the Golden State Warriors looking to add more size and shooting to the roster this offseason, you would think that a 6'10" sharpshooter would be right up their alley on the trade market.
Yet after a post went viral showing the Warriors were the betting favorites to trade for Michael Porter Jr. this summer, there was significantly mixed opinion on whether it would actually be a worthwhile move for the franchise to make.
Should the Warriors trade for Michael Porter Jr.?
From a purely basketball perspective, Porter makes a lot of sense and it's easy to envisage why fans would be fascinated by the idea of adding him as a third scorer behind Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler.
Porter is a 40.6% career 3-point shooter, having averaged at least 16.7 points in each of his past three seasons. Just think of him as a bigger version of a prime Klay Thompson, just without the elite perimeter defense and with a little more rebounding (7.0 per game in each of the past two seasons).
However, it's also easy to see why fans would be turned off by the 26-year-old after a disastrous playoff campaign that was impacted by a shoulder injury. Speaking of injuries, Porter's health is constantly a concern, even if he's managed to play 62 games or more in each of the last three regular seasons -- including 81 in 2023-24.
Then you have the contract. With nearly $80 million remaining over the next two years, that's a lot for a franchise to pay on someone who's almost exclusively an off-ball threat, who doesn't create for others, who isn't a high-level defender, and whose multiple back surgeries is enough to make you feel nervous about his body.
Beyond the debate on whether Porter would actually be a good fit for Golden State, it's hard to actually envisage how a trade would go down between the two Western Conference rivals. A Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade scenario doesn't make a lot of sense for a Nuggets team looking to contend, and would be incredibly difficult to do financially anyway.
Would the Warriors consider moving on Draymond Green and other pieces for Porter? That would be like robbing Peter to pay Paul, leaving their defense in a far worse position even if there's an upgrade offensively.
The Nuggets lack perimeter threats around 3x MVP Nikola Jokic as is, so it's almost impossible to see them moving their best shooter for a 35-year-old Green who isn't respected beyond the 3-point line by opposing defenses.
Perhaps a multi-team trade could make it happen, but at the end of the day the Porter-to-Golden State thought seems too unlikely for it to be pondered on for too long.