Michael Porter Jr., Michael Porter Jr, trade, warriors, brooklyn nets
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Michael Porter Jr. #17 of the Brooklyn Nets in action against the Los Angeles Clippers at Barclays Center on January 09, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Clippers won 121-105.
Conflicting reports have emerged on the Brooklyn Nets exploring a Michael Porter Jr. trade ahead of the Feb. 5 deadline, amid the Golden State Warriors‘ rumored interest in adding the veteran sharpshooter to shore up their offense.
According to insider Marc Stein, MPJ isn’t “a lock” to be moved, contrary to an earlier report from The Athletic’s John Hollinger.
“There is a lot of—like this weekend—John Hollinger, my good friend, former ESPN teammate, of course he’s now at The Athletic, but he spent seven years in an NBA front office—you know, he reported Saturday that he—you know—a source he trusted described it as a lock that Michael Porter Jr. is going to be traded,” Stein said on the “All NBA Podcast” on Sunday [H/T HoopsHype].
“And I just have to put my hands up and say when I’ve checked on it, I’m getting—I’ve been getting pushback,” added Stein.
Michael Porter Jr. Trade Update
There has been some recent chatter that the Nets, who owe a pick swap to the Houston Rockets in 2027, may not have much incentive to tank the 2026-27 season, and could therefore hold onto Porter Jr. and Nic Claxton, their two best players. However, Hollinger’s report on Saturday noted that the Nets prefer to “sell high” on Porter’s career year and try to land some draft assets to continue their rebounding process.
Stein believes the Nets could delay a Porter trade until the offseason.
“That the Nets—more people that I speak to than not—keep telling me the Nets would rather not trade him now, as hot as he is, to wait till the offseason, see how they do in the lottery, and then make a decision,” said the insider.
“But if John is quoting someone who told him that, you know, it’s not—you know, John’s not prone to throwing stuff out there. Like, that’s not his—that’s not his way. So for him to report that really gets my attention.”
Warriors Pursuing Michael Porter Jr.
The Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks have reportedly been earmarked as the two most aggressive suitors for Porter, who’s averaging a career-high in points (25.9), rebounds (7.4), assists (3.4) and made threes (3.7). However, the main issue the Warriors could run into is the Nets’ reported lack of interest in their top trade chip, Jonathan Kuminga, who becomes eligible to be moved starting on Jan. 15.
For the Warriors to acquire MPJ, it could take a third team, such as the Sacramento Kings, who reportedly have interest in Kuminga, to faciliate the deal. To that end, Forbes’ Evan Sidery reported last Thursday that the Kings have been “canvassing the market” for a three-team trade to offload Malik Monk’s contract in their effort to land Kuminga. Sidery notably named the Nets as a team that could make a deal happen.
“The Kings are canvassing the market to offload Malik Monk in a multi-team framework with the Warriors for Jonathan Kuminga,” Sidery reported Thursday.
“The Nets are a team to monitor with Michael Porter Jr.”
Sidery floated the framework of a three-team Warriors trade that would see MPJ land in Golden State, Kuminga in Sacramento, and Monk draft capital and salary filler in Brooklyn. The salary filler could come in the form of Buddy Hield and Moses Moody.