1 deal the Warriors must make while the 2025-26 NBA trade season is underway

The The Golden State Warriors are looking to make a mark are moving up in the Western Conference standings, coming off a tough 119-116 win over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night. It’s clear that Stephen Curry still has a lot of fuel left in the tank, and Jimmy Butler is dismissing claims that he’s already over the hill. But it’s clear the Dubs have an urgent trade Jonathan Cumminga through the door.

That’s not to say that Kuminga isn’t a talented young player who could one day become a key part of a winning team. He’s just sometimes incompatible with the way the Warriors play; whenever Curry is healthy, the Dubs focus on ball and player movement to score, preferring to keep dribbles to a minimum. Kuminga, meanwhile, is a mid-range slasher and shot creator who needs the ball in his hands to succeed.

That’s what made him such a valuable player for the Warriors in last season’s playoffs when Curry went down with an injury. But the Dubs won’t get very far at all if Curry starts to improve.

The Warriors are in the business of optimizing their roster around Curry. And Curry, who is already 37 years old, won’t be around much longer. Kuminga could hang in there and wait for his chance when Curry hangs up, but he’s already been waiting his entire career and is currently racking up a DNP — not exactly an ideal scenario for him.

To that end, the Warriors need to find a Kuminga trade that works for them and doesn’t cost them too many assets in the future.

Warriors trade for battle-tested former NBA champion

Warriors get: Michael Porter Jr., Haywood Highsmith

Nets acquire: Jonathan Cumminga, Moses Moody, Buddy Hield, first round pick 2028 GSV (top three protected)

(Trade is legal on January 15, 2026)

The The Warriors are reportedly targeting an upgrade on the wings; having 3-and-D wings that could survive multiple rounds of the playoffs without playing off the court is a key recipe for championship success. Golden State, of all teams, would know this firsthand.

Kuminga is someone who racks up DNPs for the Warriors, and he’s someone who will likely never find his footing under head coach Steve Kerr. Turning him into someone like Trey Murphy or Herb Jones would be a Herculean task requiring giving up multiple first-round picks.

With Curry on the roster right now, the Warriors are 14-15 on the season. Suffice to say, things could get ugly very quickly for them in the near future. An injury to Curry or Butler (knock on wood) automatically knocks them out of title contention, if they were competing at all.

That’s what would prevent the Warriors from paying the high price the New Orleans Pelicans will demand in any trade for Murphy or Jones. Murphy is a price-controlled budding star who thrives off the ball. He’s a 25-year-old wing who averages over 20 points per game, and New Orleans won’t go wrong if they demand close to the returns that Desmond Bane or Mikal Bridges achieved for the Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets, respectively.

Meanwhile, Jones will be in high demand given how easy it would be to insert him into any lineup. He’s also one of the best defenders in the league, and any contender will see him as an Alex Caruso-type addition.

So the Warriors will need to find a player who can move the needle enough for them without requiring them to mortgage their future. Enter Nets forward Michael Porter Jr.

The Nets acquired Porter last offseason in a trade that netted them a 2032 first-round pick from the Denver Nuggets, and Cam Johnson went to the Mile High City in return. Porter has become the number one option in Brooklyn, and as a result it produces.

Porter is currently averaging 25.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game on 49/40/82 shooting; It’s not too often that a player maintains or even improves his effectiveness when taking on a bigger score, but Porter did just that for the Nets.

The Nets can demand as high a price for Porter as they want. But Porter did earning $38 million this season, and the league will know that his stats are inflated because of his huge role in Brooklyn. Regardless, he provides so much that the Warriors need without breaking the bank.

Porter is a great rebounder at small forward, and the Dubs need all the help they can get in that aspect of the game. With his experience playing alongside Nikola Jokic, he knows how to move off the ball and knows when to pick his spots on the dribble or pindown. And the Warriors will take another major hit if they trade for Porter; he can be a late-game option when defenses focus on Curry.

The The Nets have expressed interest in Kuminga in the past, so perhaps Brooklyn will be interested in him as the primary return in any Porter trade. But given how unproductive he’s been this year, the Warriors will have to part with a first-round pick in 2028. That pick could be in the lottery since Curry will be 40 years old by then, but it’s not far into the future when the Dubs will feel the long-term effects of such a trade.

The hardest part of this trade for the Dubs is that they would have to part with Moses Moody just to make matching salaries that much easier. However, Moody hasn’t exactly been a big part of the Warriors’ rotation in recent games, and the Dubs have Brandin Podziemski, De’Anthony Melton and Will Richard to fill the minutes at the two or three.

Buddy Hield has been out of the rotation for the Dubs lately, and his $9.2 million salary is easy to include as fodder. In return, the Warriors will also receive Haywood Highsmith. Highsmith hasn’t played at all this season and may not until the trade deadline, but he’s a prototypical 3-and-D bench wing that could come in handy in the playoffs.