4 Warriors Most Likely to Be Traded This Offseason

Why these four players could be dealt in the next few weeks

Brandin Podziemski | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Golden State Warriors are not well-positioned to make a big trade this offseason.

They have just six players under standard contracts, and two of them are out for at least half of next season (Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody).

Their other four players under standard contracts are Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos and Will Richard. One of them is much more likely to be dealt than the others (which I'll explain below).

The other players they could realistically trade this offseason are Draymond Green and Kristaps Porzingis.

To trade Green, they'd need him to opt in to his $27.7 million player option. If they sign him to a multiyear deal, he'll be ineligble to be traded for a few months.

To trade Porzingis, he'll have to agree to a sign-and-trade. A sign-and-trade requires that a team signs a player for at least three seasons.

4th-Most Likely to Be Traded: Kristaps Porzingis

If the Warriors trade for a high-salary player, they have two options. They could use Jimmy Butler's salary as the money-matcher, or they could use Green (opt in and trade) and Porzingis (sign-and-trade) as the money-matchers.

There are several reasons a Porzingis trade probably won't happen.

One of the biggest ones is that there isn't a market for Porzingis.

Rebuilders won't want a 30-year-old who doesn't fit their age timeline. Contenders won't want a player with his injury/illness history who has missed 90 games over the last two regular seasons.

The other issue is any sign-and-trade a) has to be for three years and b) hard-caps the receiving team at the first apron.

The only reason any team would take on Porzingis via sign-and-trade is if the Warriors were giving up draft assets in return. The Warriors won't want to do that for almost any player.

And even if the Warriors find someone interested, Porzingis might call the whole thing off and decide to become a free agent instead if he doesn't like where he would be heading.

3rd-Most Likely to Be Traded: Draymond Green

Green is slightly more likely to be traded than Porzingis because if Green opts in, a trade will be much less complicated than a Porzingis sign-and-trade.

Similar to Porzingis, I doubt there's a market for Green, but a team could convince itself to take on Green (as long as at least one draft asset is attached) considering he would have an expiring contract.

I suspect the only way the Warriors trade Green is if it's in a blockbuster for Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kawhi Leonard. It makes more sense trading Butler for one of them from a money-matching perspective, but it's possible the Warriors try to keep Butler and instead see if the Bucks or Clips would take a Green, Porzingis and picks package.

2nd-Most Likely to Be Traded: Jimmy Butler

I don't think a Kawhi or Giannis trade is particularly likely, but in either case, using Butler as the outgoing salary is more likely than Green/Porzingis.

Butler has a massive $56.8 million expiring salary. If a team traded for Green/Porzingis, they'd have Porzingis under contract for three seasons. Having $56.8 million in cap space coming off the books next offseason would be more alluring than having Porzingis under contract for two more years.

My guess is the Warriors would rather keep Butler and trade Porzingis and Green, but taking on both Green and Porzingis might be a non-starter for most teams.

Among the possible trade targets for Butler and at least one draft asset are Zion Williamson, Anthony Davis and Domantas Sabonis.

Most Likely to Be Traded: Brandin Podziemski

I would say there's under a 50 percent chance that Podz gets traded, but he still is the most likely Warrior to be traded this offseason.

The Dubs aren't trading Curry. Richard doesn't have real trade value, and Santos' contract is too valuable to give away. No team will target Moody with the possibility he misses the entire 2026-27 season.

But Podz has the perfect combination of real value and an upcoming contract decision that could make the Warriors think more about dealing him.

Podz is set to play the 2026-27 season on a $5.7 million salary. He'll be extension eligible after the NBA Finals. He'll probably command a multiyear extension worth more than $20 million per season.

To be clear, I think the Warriors are prepared to pay that. But they would be comfortable dealing Podz for the right return.

For example, Podz could be included in a trade for Giannis if the Bucks demand one young Warriors player in return. But Podz could also be traded straight up for a 2026 first-round pick to a contender such as the Thunder or Hornets. Perhaps the Warriors would prefer another pick in the 12-18 range than Podz.