The Golden State Warriors have a Stephen Curry problem. No, not the kind you’d expect. The roster around him is aging, and the front office is hunting for a real co-star who can carry weight on both ends. But according to Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor, there’s a major hitch in at least one potential deal: head coach Steve Kerr isn’t interested in bringing Michael Porter Jr. to the Bay Area.
“Sources say Steve Kerr didn’t want MPJ in February, and there is little reason to believe he would want him now,” O’Connor reported. That’s not just a passing preference. It’s a hard no from the guy running the huddle.
The Warriors can make a trade. The question is who they’re willing to take.
Golden State has assets. They can trade up to two unprotected first-round picks, one protected first, and four pick swaps. That’s real flexibility. But if the guy you’d want most (Anthony Davis, with the Wizards) isn’t realistically available, the list of options gets thin fast. Porter Jr. would’ve been a logical fit on paper — a 6-foot-10 wing who can score from anywhere and just put up 24.2 points per game with the Nets last season, shooting 46.3% from the field and 36.3% from three. But Kerr apparently doesn’t see it working in his system.
It’s not just about Porter either. The Warriors could also try using Jimmy Butler III as trade bait later in the season. O’Connor floated that possibility too. “Golden State can always trade Butler later,” he said. “Maybe the Warriors wait until the deadline and hope another star becomes available. If not, they roll the dice on Butler’s recovery.”
That recovery part matters. Butler’s health is never a given, and running it back with a half-healthy star alongside Curry and Draymond Green is a gamble. LeBron James is still out there making a free-agent decision between the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers. Some fans want him in Golden State. But LeBron choosing the Warriors based on what they might become by midseason? That’s a long shot.
So where does that leave the Warriors?
Right now, they’re stuck between waiting for a better star to shake loose and settling for smaller moves around the edges. Porter Jr. could’ve been the kind of young-ish piece (he’s 27) who extends their window. But Kerr’s resistance means the front office has to think of something else. Maybe they hold their picks and wait. Maybe they make a smaller deal now and hope something bigger opens up by February. Either way, the clock is ticking on Curry’s prime, and the roster as it stands isn’t winning a title.
Porter Jr. spent six seasons in Denver before getting traded to Brooklyn ahead of his breakout 2025-26 campaign. He averaged 7.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists to go with that scoring. Plenty of teams would want him. Just not the one coached by Steve Kerr.
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