As frequently as we call contracts immovable, it's worth remembering that Russell Westbrook once changed teams in all five seasons of a supermax contract. Proximity to retirement isn't necessarily an impediment either. In 2007, the Dallas Mavericks managed to sign-and-trade Keith Van Horn roughly eight months after he played his final NBA game because they needed some filler salary to complete their Jason Kidd blockbuster.
If a team wants to trade a player badly enough, there's almost always a way to do so. Still, the Golden State Warriors are facing an uphill climb to move Kristaps Porziņģis, at least for now. On Wednesday, ESPN reported that the Warriors are exploring possible deals involving their high-profile center, but for a variety of reasons, he is an enormously tricky player to trade right now: Put all of this together and you have an enormously inconvenient set of trade circumstances.
The Warriors, with Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody also sidelined, are starting the season with almost $90 million in salary sitting out due to injuries that preceded this season. Part of their motivation in exploring a Porziņģis trade would likely be to salvage this season. If they have to wait until Dec. 15 for the right combination of players to become tradable, it might be too late.
At best, Porziņģis is essentially just matching money from a trade perspective. At worst, he's someone they'll have to attach something to in order to move. So, are there any viable moves out there?
The best version of Golden State's roster is pretty dependent on having centers that can shoot. As the Warriors learned with Jonathan Kuminga, pairing a third shaky 3-point shooter with Butler and Draymond Green tends to compromise their spacing. Green can play center when needed, but at this point shouldn't do so on a full-time basis.
And while Al Horford is here, he's 40 and not equipped for a starter's workload. This was the theoretical purpose of the Porziņģis acquisition. Golden State needs tall people who can make 3s, especially now that Quinten Post is gone.
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