Warriors Lose Out on Perfect Fit for Steve Kerr After Blockbuster Trade

The Golden State Warriors’ search for a frontcourt upgrade hit a snag on the eve of the 2025 NBA Draft.

In a stunning three-team trade, the Boston Celtics shipped former All-Star center Kristaps Porziņģis to the Atlanta Hawks with the Brooklyn Nets, as ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania first reported.

The deal includes Boston’s least favorable second-round pick in 2026 going to Atlanta, while Boston received Georges Niang and a second-round pick in 2031 via Cleveland, per Hoopshype’s Michael Scotto. Brooklyn gets Terance Mann and Atlanta’s No. 22 pick in this year’s draft.

The Warriors were one of the few of the 10-12 teams that had been in contact with the Celtics on Porzingis and others, according to Brett Seigel of ClutchPoints, before the Latvian center went to Atlanta in the three-team trade.

The 29-year-old Porziņģis could have been the perfect stretch five and rim protector rolled into one in Steve Kerr’s system.

Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty ImagesThe Boston Celtics traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks on the eve of the 2025 NBA Draft.

The Warriors, however, may have dodged a bullet as the Latvian center had a hard time making himself available on the court.

In his two-year stint in Boston, Porziņģis never played more than 57 games. A lengthy injury history — from assortment of lower body injuries to respiratory illness — has marred his NBA career.

During the Celtics’ abbreviated playoff run, Porziņģis dealt with a mysterious respiratory illness that rendered him ineffective. His numbers dipped to a horrendous 4.2 points on 24% shooting across Boston’s six-game loss to New York in the second round of the playoffs. The respiratory illness limited him to only 15.5 minutes of playing time per game in the series.

Warriors Could Get Stretch Center for Jonathan Kuminga

All is not lost for the Warriors after Porziņģis was shipped to Atlanta as they could still get a stretch center in a potential sign-and-trade involving their restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported on June 23, that the Warriors are “seemingly certain to receive sign-and-trade approaches for restricted free agent-to-be Jonathan Kuminga.”

One of those teams linked to Kuminga are the Chicago Bulls, according to Hoopshype’s Michael Scotto .

“The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat are two teams to monitor as potential sign-and-trade candidates for Kuminga, league sources told HoopsHype. With that in mind, the Warriors have also not ruled out the possibility of retaining Kuminga, sources said,” Scotto wrote.

The Bulls have veteran center Nikola Vucevic, who has been on the Warriors’ radar since the trade deadline.

The Warriors were “at the front of the line” in the weeks leading to the trade deadline for Vucevic with the Bulls looking for a first-round pick in return, Stein reported in January.

Vucevic is on an expiring $21.5 million salary. Only half of Kuminga’s annual pay in his next contract will be counted as outgoing salary in any trade. So, the Warriors have to add salary fillers to make the math work.

Jonathan Kuminga Seeks Bigger Role

Getty Jonathan Kuminga and the Golden State Warriors are expected to explore a sign-and-trade this offseason.

Kuminga is looking to build on his final four games of the season in which he averaged 24.3 points on 55.4% overall shooting and 38.9% from the 3-point line in their playoff loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The 22-year-old is “looking for an expanded and consistent role moving forward,” Scotto noted. However, that will not happen in Golden State as Kerr has made himself clear he can’t do that with the current makeup of the team and their win-now window.

“I’ve been asked to win,” Kerr told The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami on “The TK Show” on Wednesday, May 21. “And right now, he’s not a guy who I can say, I’m going to play 38 minutes with the roster we have, Steph [Curry], Jimmy [Butler], and Draymond [Green], and put the puzzle together that way and expect to win.”