Just a few months after the Warriors signed Kristaps Porzingis to a two-year, $40 million extension, the team is already looking to shop him.
According to ESPN's Anthony Slater, Porzingis' health issues have gotten bad enough that he is "seriously contemplating his future in basketball." The big man is on an indefinite leave of absence as he recovers from what he has termed a POTS diagnosis. It's looking less and less likely that he will be able to help the Warriors on the court this year.
Porzingis does have a contract that is structured in a way to make it movable. He is owed $20 million this season and has a small $3 million guarantee for next season. That high salary is important, because the Warriors are in the first apron and cannot add any more salary to their payroll in any trades.
While other teams probably wouldn't expect Porzingis to play for them, they could use his matching salary in order to offload one of their own deals that they aren't particularly enamored with. The Warriors alternatively have two tradeable first-round picks that they could attach in order to bring in some higher-quality players.
Here's an idea of the types of deals that Golden State could pursue.
Kristaps Porzingis trade options
Trade for Daniel Gafford
How about a return to Dallas for Porzingis? If Dereck Lively can return to health, then he looks like the presumptive starter for the Mavericks. That makes Gafford an expensive $17.2 million backup.
The Mavericks aren't just going to give Gafford away, particularly when they don't control their own draft pick and are trying to win as many games as possible this year. Gafford isn't worth a first-round pick on his own though. The Warriors have two second-rounders that they could trade. If the draft compensation could get worked out, then this could be a possibility.
Trade for Myles Turner
Turner is the best starting center available on the trade market. He's on a Bucks team that is going nowhere this year and should be giving most of its minutes towards developing younger players.
Turner is a decent player (he ranked 20th on my list of starting centers this year) but has low trade value due to a contract that is underwater. He's owed $83.5 million over the next three seasons, including $26.6 million this year. He's only worth about $30 million over that same timespan according to my salary model.
It wouldn't take much for the Warriors to get Turner. They'd have to add another player in addition to Porzingis to create enough matching salary for a trade to work. They would have to wait until Dec. 15 to do the deal, but Porzingis and Al Horford in exchange for Turner would work, allowing the Bucks to get off some bad money and the Warriors to get a player in the door who could help them immediately.
Trade for Jalen Smith, Isaac Okoro
The Bulls have several veterans on expiring contracts that are available for trade. Two of their more reliable players are Jalen Smith, an athletic stretch five who is a low-end starter-quality talent, and Isaac Okoro, a defensive specialist on the perimeter. Both players could help the Warriors in the immediate future while not impacting their books long-term.
The Warriors would need to package Porzingis with a smaller salary in order to make a deal like this work. Gui Santos has been one of their greatest success stories and would be tough to part with, but getting two players in the door in exchange for him would be worth the price. A Porzingis and Santos for Smith and Okoro deal works financially, and the teams could negotiate on second-round compensation to balance out the deal.
