What Warriors' Porzingis Trade Talks with 3 Interested Teams Could Look Like

It's become clear that the Golden State Warriors will trade Kristaps Porzingis before the Feb. 11 deadline.

What isn't clear is how quickly a deal will go down and how many teams will be interested.

ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel wrote Friday that a Porzingis trade will "likely" happen in the next 30-40 days.

Siegel also reported that the Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans and Chicago Bulls have contacted the Warriors about a Porzingis trade.

Why Teams Are Interested

Siegel reported that Porzingis will give up "over 60 percent of his salary" in a buyout after the Warriors trade him.

How much a team would save in cash and how much cap space would be cleared depends on when the trade goes down and how much salary the team is sending back to the Warriors.

But we don't need to know exact figures to undestand the interest in a Porzingis trade is real.

The premise is simple. A rival team could trade about $20 million in salaries to the Warriors for Porzingis, buy out most of the remaining $20 million of his 2026-27 salary (and $3 million guaranteed 2027-28 salary) and save some money.

Warriors-Bucks Turner Trade Talks Could Be a Game of Chicken

The Turner-for-Porzinigs trade rumors have been in full swing for the last few days.

On Wednesday, The Stein Line's Jake Fischer reported that Turner is not "high" on the Warriors' trade targets list for Porzingis.

Fischer wrote, "Golden State, sources say, would be seeking draft capital or other forms of incentive from the Bucks to consider a deal for Turner now."

On Friday, Siegel wrote the following:

"While willing to give up Myles Turner for Porzingis’ contract, the Bucks have wanted draft compensation from the Warriors, something that isn’t on the table, sources said. Golden State has held firm that if it were to absorb Turner’s contract for Porzingis and another player, presumably Moses Moody, the team would need extra compensation from Milwaukee, and there really is no interest in trading Moody."

The best version of Turner would fit the Warriors perfectly. His three-point shooting and rim protection would make him the ideal center alongside Draymond Green.

But the question is, has Turner declined? He's shooting just 31.6 percent from three this season with unimpressive scoring (8.5 PPG) and rebounding (5.6 RPG) averages.

One could argue he's become a negative asset with his $26.6 million salary this season, $27.9 million salary next season and $29.1 million salary (player option) in 2028-29.

With that said, I can't see the Bucks giving up any draft assets to the Warriors to take on Turner. They are in a long-term rebuild, so keeping Turner isn't preventing them from getting a key piece for a contention push.

Warriors Could Have Trouble Getting Top Bulls Target

Fischer reported that the Warriors are interested in Bulls center Jalen Smith, and I wrote what a trade could look like here. Siegel wrote that the Bulls haven't shown interest in a Smith-for-Porzingis swap to this point.

My guess is the Bulls would rather get off the remaining two years of Nicolas Claxton's deal than trade Smith, who has an expiring contract.

It will be fascinating to find out if the Warriors are interested in Claxton. On the one hand, he's a great passer and a quality rim protector.

On the other hand, he's not a stretch-5. The Warriors are already getting great contributions from non-stretch-big Charles Bassey. Is Claxton a big enough upgrade to use the Porzingis trade chip on?

Pels Likely Rehashing Old Trade Talks

The Pels have had sky-high asking prices for Herbert Jones and Trey Murphy III. My guess is they checked in with the Warriors to see if they'd be willing to meet the draft-capital asking price for one of them with Porzingis as a key money-matcher.

Jones is a tremendous wing defender, but he's shooting under 31 percent from three for the third year in a row. Even giving up one first-round pick for him would be risky.

Murphy continues to be my favorite Warriors trade target.

I've written that the Dubs should meet the Pelicans' asking price of three first-round picks (unless Moses Moody is part of the package, in which case the draft compensation should be reduced).

The Warriors haven't been willing to meet that type of asking price, and I wouldn't expect them to do so now. But you can't blame the Pelicans for checking in to see if the Dubs are finally willing to go all-in on the end of Steph Curry's prime.

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