The Golden State Warriors may be adding another unpredictable ingredient to their stew.
Golden State has had internal discussions about a potential trade for Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr., veteran NBA writer Jake Fischer reported to Substack on Friday. The news comes with just over a month left to go before the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline.
The 27-year-old Porter, a former NBA champion with the Denver Nuggets, is currently enjoying a career year with the Nets. On a lowly Brooklyn team that is largely devoid of talent otherwise, Porter has stepped up as the clear No. 1 option and is averaging 25.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game this season (all career-best marks).
Nevertheless, Porter remains a controversial player, largely because of his style of play. The 6-foot-10 forward is extremely streaky, highly ball-dominant, and questionable defensively, creating real questions about how he might perform these days on a contender rather than on a tanking team. Porter has also sparked backlash with some of his outspoken behavior off the court, including delivering some contentious takes during podcasts in recent months.
But for the toiling 18-16 Warriors, they might just be willing to hold their nose and take a swing on Porter here. Golden State badly needs another consistent scorer as they are struggling to generate efficient offensive looks outside of star player Steph Curry (currently ranking just 18th in the NBA in offensive efficiency).
Porter is signed for $38.3 million this season and another $40.8 million next season. We recently heard that the 10-20 Nets could be very willing to trade Porter, and now it looks like they may just have a taker up in the Bay Area.
