Who's going to take back a two-year, $40 million contract that's attached to a player who may never play another NBA minute? It's the question facing the Golden State Warriors in light of a rumor that they're looking to trade Kristaps Porzingis, who's considering a shift to a life beyond basketball.
Though well-paid minds will be exploring every possible avenue, the Warriors may not have a better option than going all-in on Myles Turner.
Trading Porzingis with the knowledge that he won't play will require Golden State to, first and foremost, find a team that's hoping to offload a contract they no longer want. From there, the Warriors must sift through the potentially underwhelming options and decide who's worth the gamble.
That could prove problematic, as Shams Charania of ESPN is reporting that Golden State is weighing its options in regard to trading Porzingis—and that he's questioning if he has a future in basketball due to his health issues.
"The Golden State Warriors have begun exploring trade routes for veteran center Kristaps Porzingis, who remains out indefinitely as he deals with a private health issue that has him seriously contemplating his future in basketball, league sources told ESPN's Shams Charania."
Turner is by no means guaranteed to be available, but the Warriors should be aggressive in pursuing this option if they must proceed with Porzingis' deal on the books.
Myles Turner would give GSW value, Bucks would get a short-term cap hit
The key to the Warriors trading Porzingis will be providing a negotiating partner with financial relief. That can be achieved rather naturally, as Porzingis has just $3 million in guaranteed money for the 2027-28 season and can thus help a cash-strapped team ease their financial burden.
That could potentially appeal to a Bucks side that's trending toward a youth movement and may not be inclined to pay Turner the $83,550,231 he's owed over the next three seasons.
That makes this a smart move on paper. For Milwaukee, they'd shed Turner's last two seasons. It makes sense to do so on multiple levels, primarily after the team acquired up-and-coming center Kel'el Ware in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade.
The 22-year-old Ware came off of the bench during four of the Bucks' five preseason games, but the 30-year-old Turner may not be as ideal of a fit with Milwaukee's core of players who are 26 and younger.
Myles Turner may not be a perfect fit, but at least he'll play
As for what Turner would bring to the Warriors, he offers spacing and rim protection as strengths that could fit next to Draymond Green. He's also a proven postseason player who helped the Indiana Pacers reach the 2025 NBA Finals.
If nothing else, swapping Porzingis for Turner would at least give the Warriors some kind of return on their investment in the sense that they'd have a player on the court.
Yes, Turner struggled with the Bucks in 2025-26. In saying that, he also played for a team that had Giannis Antetokounmpo for just 36 games and wasn't exactly built to win without him. Perhaps the drastic drop-off from a strong 2024-25 campaign thus isn't as real as it seems.
As the Warriors look for a way to maximize Porzingis' questionable trade value while helping 38-year-old franchise player Stephen Curry win now, they should do what they can to bring Turner to the Bay Area and finally have a prime-year talent in the frontcourt.
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