How Report That 2 Warriors Targets Aren't for Sale Affects Trade Season

The New Orleans Pelicans are reportedly keeping five core players this trade season.

Chris Haynes reported that Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears will remain with the team past the Feb. 5 trade deadline.

Let's break down how this affects the Golden State Warriors in their quest to trade Jonathan Kuminga for a valuable piece.

More Competition for Porter, Which Means Warriors Might Have to Up Their Offer

The trade market was already not robust on wing targets, but now if this report that Murphy and Jones are off the table is accurate, it's as dry as it can be.

Michael Porter Jr. is the one big prize. After him, the best available wing might be Jerami Grant. That is a massive drop-off.

This puts the Nets in a major position of strength. They should have no problem getting two unprotected first-round picks for Porter as teams compete against each other for him.

Porter is worth that, mind you. He's averaging 26.1 points on 49.5 percent shooting from the field and 41.1 percent from three.

Still, it's a big price to pay for a Warriors team that could easily fall off a cliff after the 2026-27 season. Any unprotected pick they trade from 2028 to 2032 could easily land in the top five.

If the Nets demand that both of the first-round picks are in that window and unprotected—for example, a 2028 first and 2032 first, or maybe a 2028 first and 2029 first-round pick swap—the Warriors might have to say yes knowing if they let Porter slip away, they are looking at much bleaker options.

Pivot to a Center Upgrade?

If the Warriors get the impression they are not going to land Porter, they should quickly pivot to the center trade market.

There's no doubt they need a wing more, but what's killing the Warriors is a combination of lack of size and athleticism at both wing and center.

If they had a better center owning the glass and protecting the rim, at least they could better compensate for their wing deficiency.

Nic Claxton is best center I'd consider currently on the market. He's a good interior scorer and passer, and he's a decent rim protector. The issue with him is the Nets actually rebound slightly better with him off the floor. He's not the rebounder that, say, Ivica Zubac is, which is why the Warriors might be hesitant to trade for him. And the Nets' reported lack of interest in Kuminga would complicate this trade anyway.

The next center on the list is Daniel Gafford. He's a slightly better rebounder than Claxton—Gafford is averaging 1.7 more rebounds per 36 minutes—but he's not a good passer. The Mavericks are looking to get younger and create more future cap flexibility, so Gafford will be easier to get than Claxton.

There would be other pieces to make the money work, but a Kuminga-for-Gafford swap is realisitc. It wouldn't be a return worth celebrating for the Warriors, but they'd at least get a useful center and finally move forward from this saga.