The Golden State Warriors have stumbled to an 11-10 start to the season. It’s clear that general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. will need to make some moves if the Warriors are going to become true contenders this season. While Jonathan Kuminga remains an obvious eventual trade piece, is contract prevents him from being moved until January. While it’s rare for trades to be made this early in the season, the Warriors have some options at their disposal.
Here’s a list of some deals the Dubs could try to make right now:
Warriors get: Saddiq Bey and Yves Missi
Pelicans get: Buddy Hield, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and GS 2026 1st (Top-5 Protected)
The Pelicans are among the worst teams in the NBA and do not have a first-round pick in the 2026 draft. While the Warriors are probably unwilling to trade their 2026 first-rounder now, hoping to wait and make a run at Trey Murphy or Herb Jones down the line, Dunleavy should be open to a more aggressive move for secondary role players that allows them to keep their best trade pieces. After all, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski, and Warriors first-round picks in the post-Steph Curry era all probably carry more trade value anyway.
Saddiq Bey is a 3-and-D forward who is under contract through the 2026-27 season for less than $6.5 million a year. He is a solid rebounder, three-point shooter, and willing to call his own number. While there is significant overlap between his game and Kuminga’s, which is probably why the Warriors effectively traded Bey for Gary Payton II in the James Wiseman deal, Golden State should be done with sacrificing a better roster for young players who have yet to take a major step forward. Bey could go a long way toward solving Warriors lineups that desperately need a player that plays with physicality and can be a threat from three-point range.
Yves Missi is a second-year center with legitimate size who would be a massive upgrade over Trayce Jackson-Davis for Golden State. Missi 9.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 26.8 minutes per game as a rookie, but has been buried on the Pelicans depth chart by first-year president of basketball operations Joe Dumars. Even in a smaller role, he has continued to be a valuable bench big and quietly has some of the best on/off numbers on the team.
Turning Hield and Jackson-Davis’ roster spots into Bey and Missi would give Warriors head coach Steve Kerr a significantly deeper frontcourt. While neither player has the upside teams normally seek in a deal that costs a first-round pick, they are both on cheap long-term contracts. The Warriors would still have plenty of pieces to go hunting for an All-Star piece down the line, but they should at least be making a call to New Orleans to see if the Pelicans would be willing to part with some role players.
Warriors get: Keon Ellis, Dario Saric
Kings get: Buddy Hield, GS 2026 1st (Top-5 Protected)
The Kings have reportedly been called by more than a dozen teams trying to acquire Keon Ellis, so the odds are the Dubs would not be able to get a deal done even with a lightly protected first-round pick. The Kings might also be hesitant to make a deal with the Warriors while Kuminga remains untradeable. If Sacramento still covets Kuminga, holding onto Ellis as someone to get a JK deal across the finish line makes a lot of sense (it feels like we could be heading toward a Malik Monk/Ellis return for Kuminga when the time comes).
Still, the Warriors should be looking for every opportunity to turn Hield into a more dynamic scorer or a better defensive 3-and-D wing. Ellis is easily the latter and is on a minimum salary contract. Ellis is a career 42.4% three-point shooter who has averaged 2.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per 36 minutes. Still only 25 and extension-eligible, he would be the perfect player for the Warriors. Golden State would have to take back Dario Saric for salary-matching purposes, but could simply waive the journeyman big and would still come away with some minor savings as well.
Warriors get: Georges Niang
Jazz get: Buddy Hield, GS 2030 2nd
The least exciting, but probably most plausible of the bunch. The Jazz acquired Georges Niang as salary filler in one of their many offseason trades. The stretch-four has been sidelined by a fractured foot so far this season but is nearing a return. However, the Jazz depth chart is already overly balanced toward front court players. The Dubs, on the other hand, have a roster overly balanced towards guards who cannot create off the dribble. Using Hield and a future second-round pick for Niang would give the Warriors another $1 million in breathing room below the second apron hard cap and would also get them one of the most proven stretch-fours in the league. A career 39.9% three-point shooter on four attempts per game, Niang would allow Steve Kerr to be a bit less reliant on Quinten Post and Al Horford when he needs frontcourt shooting.
Warriors get: Jaden Ivey
Pistons get: Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield
The Pistons have won 13 consecutive games and are surging atop the Eastern Conference. They have done that largely without former fifth-overall pick Jaden Ivey, who was sidelined to start the season with a knee injury. Ivey has finally returned to action and is building up to a 30+ minutes per game role, but it remains to be seen how well Ivey will coexist with this contending version of the Pistons. Ivey only appeared in 30 games last season and was sidelined for the team’s playoff run led by Cade Cunningham.
Still only 23, Ivey is an impressive athlete and scorer who still has the potential to be an All-Star combo guard. However, there is a reason the Pistons did not sign him to an extension prior to the season. Ivey has remained inconsistent as a playmaker and defender. If the Pistons stumble in Ivey’s return or are simply skeptical of his long-term fit, the Warriors could offer a package of Brandin Podziemski and Hield for the young guard.
While both Podz and Hield have been underwhelming for Golden State so far this season, they both would have clear roles in Detroit. The Pistons are desperate for shooting and Hield would lessen their reliance on Duncan Robinson. Podz, on the other hand, is exactly the type of glue guard who fits exceptionally well alongside ball dominant players like Cunningham.
The Pistons have a real shot at winning the Eastern Conference, which could make turning Ivey’s potential into a more consistent role player like Podziemski surprisingly appealing. Podziemski is also on a smaller contract and is an extra year removed from restricted free agency. The Pistons are going to face a slight payroll crunch next summer if they want to retain Ivey and young big Jalen Duren, who will both become restricted free agents. Swapping Ivey for Podziemski would get out ahead of that conundrum.
Ivey is far from the perfect player for the Warriors, but he’s arguably the highest-upside shooting guard the Warriors could acquire via trade at this point in the season. The Dubs would still have plenty of first-round picks, Jonathan Kuminga, and even Moses Moody to dangle in trades later in the season if they need to make additional moves. The fact is, the Warriors aren’t good enough to pass on an opportunity to add someone with Ivey’s upside if they can do so without parting with multiple valuable pieces. Detroit would probably refuse a deal that did not include an additional first rounder at this point in the season, but it’s worth making sure.
Warriors get: Ayo Dosunmo, POR 2026 1st (Lottery Protected)
Bulls get: Buddy Hield, GS 2026 1st (Top-5 Protected)
Coby White has been tied to the Warriors quite a bit, but Ayo Dosunmo is an alternative scoring guard whose salary is small enough to be acquired by the Dubs for Hield. The Bulls would get to bet against a Warriors team that is old, has gotten off to a slow start, and is one serious Steph Curry injury away from complete implosion. Meanwhile, the Warriors would add some dynamic scoring to their backcourt and retain a 2026 first-round pick that could be used in another trade down the line.
The Bulls have control of the Blazers first-round pick through 2028, but will only get the pick if Portland reaches the playoffs. If the Blazers miss the playoffs for the next three seasons, the pick will turn into a second rounder. So, Chicago would be swapping that limited upside pick with Dosunmo for a first that is much more likely to convey in the stacked 2026 draft and would become unprotected next season in the rare scenario Golden State lands a top-five pick.
The Warriors would be turning Hield into a far more dynamic young player averaging a career-high 15.6 points per game as a scoring weapon off the Bulls bench. Dosunmo has always been a rare guard who was highly efficient from two-point range and has made 47.8% of his three-point attempts so far this season. While his shooting will undeniably regress, he has been a 38.7% shooter from three on four attempts per game over the past three seasons.
For a minor trade, the draft picks involved could have massive shifts in value. If the Blazers reach the playoffs, the Warriors could end up acquiring Dosunmo for an extremely minor pick swap. On the other hand, if Portland never gets out of the Western Conference cellar, they could end up trading a high first-round pick for a bench player on an expiring contract and a 2028 second-round pick.
Warriors get: Ivica Zubac, Cameron Christie
Clippers get: Moses Moody, Buddy Hield, GS 2026 1st (Unprotected), GS 2028 1st (Unprotected), GS 2032 1st (Unprotected)
As a bonus, I’ll include the one borderline blockbuster deal that the Warriors could try to make at this point in the season without Kuminga’s salary available to match. The fact is, as the Clippers fail to climb out of the bottom of the Western Conference standings, trade rumors surrounding James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Ivica Zubac will be right around the corner. Zubac is arguably the second-best center in the NBA and is on on of the most team-friendly contracts in the league (he is making just $19.5 million per season through 2027-28).
The Warriors would be gutting their draft capital and depleting an already thin group of wings by trading Moses Moody. However, Zubac is a legitimate All-NBA caliber center. Zubac would allow Kerr to actually lessen his reliance on Draymond Green and Al Horford during the regular season and would singlehandedly solve the team’s rebounding woes.
There would be some spacing issues to work out offensively with Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, and Ivica Zubac in the starting lineup, but that trio of players is proven enough to bet on them figuring out how to maximize their skillsets offensively. Besides, Steph Curry has made far less skilled offensive frontcourts work.
Would the Clippers be willing to embrace a rebuild this early in the season? Probably not, especially with the team mired in controversy and hosting the All-Star Game. Even if they were, would they make such a blockbuster deal within the Pacific Division? Probably not. But the Warriors should at least see if a trio of unprotected first-round picks and Moses Moody could get a conversation started.