Michael Porter Jr.'s trade cost
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Michael Porter Jr. of Brooklyn Nets shoots during NBA China Games 2025 between Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns.
The Golden State Warriors’ interest in Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. remains active, but newly revealed trade demands suggest that acquiring him would require a major financial and structural commitment.
According to Forbes’ NBA reporter Evan Sidery, the Nets have set a firm asking price that would fundamentally reshape Golden State’s asset base.
“In continued trade discussions on Michael Porter Jr., the belief is the Nets are seeking two first-round picks in 2026 and 2028 from the Warriors in their package,” Sidery reported. “Golden State can match salaries with Brooklyn by including Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Buddy Hield.”
That package — two future firsts plus multiple rotation players — will immediately handicap the Warriors’ ability to make a star trade in the offseason for someone like Giannis Antetokounmpo if the Milwaukee Bucks decide to make him available.
Michael Porter Jr.’s Trade Cost Reflects Inflation in Wing Trade Market
Brooklyn’s demand aligns with how aggressively teams have been pricing elite perimeter talent over the past two seasons.
Two years ago, the Nets traded Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks for five first-round picks and a future pick swap, a return that reset expectations across the league.
Last summer, Memphis sent Desmond Bane to Orlando for four unprotected first-round picks, a pick swap, and two rotation players, further reinforcing the trend.
Against that backdrop, Brooklyn’s request for two firsts plus young players for Porter can be viewed as steep — but not unprecedented.
From Brooklyn’s perspective, it is not an aggressive valuation.
It is the market.
Three-Team Structure Likely Required
Even if Golden State were willing to meet the draft price, multiple reports suggest the deal is not straightforward.
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that Brooklyn has little interest in the Warriors’ most natural trade chip: Jonathan Kuminga.
“He’s definitely someone that Golden State is looking at,” Fischer said Tuesday on Bleacher Report’s NBA Insider Notebook. “But if the Warriors are going to try to get MPJ from Brooklyn, they’re probably going to need a three-team deal that sends Jonathan Kuminga elsewhere.”
Fischer was more explicit in his assessment of Brooklyn’s stance.
“Brooklyn does not like Jonathan Kuminga,” Fischer said. “If they did, they would have thrown him an offer sheet this summer or gotten involved and tried to sign-and-trade for him.”
That lack of interest eliminates the possibility of a clean two-team swap and makes a third-team facilitator — one willing to absorb Kuminga and send Brooklyn different assets — essential.
Porter Remains a Priority Target for Warriors
Despite the cost and complexity, Porter remains near the top of Golden State’s internal target board.
ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel reported that Porter is “at the top” of the Warriors’ wish list ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline, though the team remains cautious about how much it is willing to surrender.
“Early signals from the Warriors are that they do not want to trade more than one first-round pick for Porter,” Siegel wrote, noting that any deal would likely include both Kuminga and Moody.
That internal cap reflects a philosophical tension within Golden State’s front office: how aggressively to push in Stephen Curry’s remaining prime versus how much to preserve for a post-Curry future.
The Warriors are acutely aware that a truly franchise-altering player — such as Antetokounmpo — could become available in the offseason if Milwaukee pivots. Preserving draft capital for that possibility has made Golden State reluctant to exhaust its asset chest now.
Why Porter’s Value Is So High
Porter is in the midst of the most productive season of his career, emerging as Brooklyn’s No. 1 scoring option after spending much of Denver’s championship run as a tertiary piece behind Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray.
He is averaging 25.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.1 steals, while shooting 40.4 percent from three-point range and 49.1 percent overall — a blend of volume, efficiency and positional size that remains among the most coveted profiles in the modern NBA.
At 27 years old and under a long-term contract, Porter fits both a short-term championship window and a longer-term roster timeline, a combination that naturally elevates his market value.
That level of production gives Brooklyn little incentive to rush into a deal unless the return clearly advances the franchise’s future.
Now the question is not whether the Warriors are interested — but whether they are willing to pay the price for a championship-caliber wing.