Warriors trade Kuminga, Hield for Porzingas; TJD for 2nd round pick

there's a Warriors game tonight, and a trade deadline at noon

Feb 05, 2026

Courtesy of Ivan B. The man behind the DNHQ logo and generally amazing guy.

TRADE ALERT!

Attention!! The following game preview has been pre-empted by late-breaking news that the Warriors long and uneven saga with Jonathan Kuminga is coming to a merciful end.

Warriors trading Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield to Hawks for Kristaps Porzingis

The Chase is over.

The Golden State Warriors have agreed to trade Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks for veteran center Kristaps Porzingis, league sources told ESPN.
This marks the unofficial end of the Warriors’ pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, team sources said.

The Warriors have also moved backup center Trayce Jackson-Davis to Toronto for a 2nd round draft pick.

It’s something.

The Chase is over- but not in the way endings usually work in the NBA. This isn’t a door slamming shut so much as one quietly closing, with a hand still on the handle. The Warriors didn’t land Giannis Antetokounmpo, but they also didn’t disprove the idea that they’re willing to swing big, sacrifice comfort, and burn whatever remains of the bridge behind them to chase one last transformation. For now, the league moves on, the deadline clicks closer, and the games still have to be played. Even when the future dominates the conversation, the present stubbornly shows up on the schedule.

The Warriors managed to reload. To a degree, anyways. The Warriors have shown their hand: they know where they are, and they know standing still isn’t a solution. Unfortunately, the deadline doesn’t wait for perfect opportunities, and the NBA doesn’t stop the games while teams mourn the futures they didn’t land. With that, attention reluctantly turns back to the court.

GAME PREVIEW

The Golden State Warriors have a game tonight in Phoenix. Top of mind thoughts aren’t on the matchup against the Suns, but rather the in-season trade deadline, which closes at noon today - locking in the roster for the remainder of the season.

Without change, this team is in trouble, both in the near, and long term. Jimmy Butler is done for the season, and likely much of the next. Stephen Curry is currently sidelined as well (he’s ruled out for tonight) with an injury that could linger and keep him out through the all-star break. Likewise, Jonathan Kuminga is listed as out - an amorphous knee issue that may or may not be related to the fact that he absolutely hates it here.1

But as the trade deadline ticks ever nearer, the growing possibility must be faced: perhaps there isn’t a roster move coming. This is going to be one of those morning that stretches out like a nightmare hallway! And it all comes to a close tonight, with whatever the Warriors roster looks like facing a Suns team holding the spot directly above them in the playoff chase.

GAME DETAILS

WHO: Golden State Warriors (27-24) at Phoenix Suns (31-20)

WHEN: Thursday, February 5th, 2026; 7pm PST

WATCH: NBCSBA

Watching it cook

Look at that header image from Ivan B. There’s Kuminga in the background, forehead high with the rim, arms cocked back for one of those I dare you to try and stick your hand in here dunks. Ugh. Sure seems like the sort of player that could help this version of the Warriors right now. Butler is done. 50 million dollars2 worth of great teammate sitting on the bench.

This has got to be a tough choice, but the Warriors are out of viable pivots. At this point, it’s hard to imagine a superstar coming in to fit in so well with Curry - even at the cost of Draymond Green. And status quo seems untenable. As DNHQ’s own Duncan wrote yesterday there’s something unappealing about what the Warriors are running with these days. This is a team with Stephen Curry still playing at an elite level. These aren’t his fat Jordan years!

If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’re an addict and you have a problem. But for the vast majority of Warriors fans, casual or obsessive, there’s nothing that the on-court product can do that compares to dreaming up the next iteration of this team…

To catch everyone up, the Warriors spent their weekend reportedly sliding everything on the table. Anything but Stephen Curry. But there’s a very real question if Draymond Green, Brandin Podziemski, and Jonathan Kuminga for Giannis Antetokounmpo would be the best offer Milwaukee could get for their superstar - even assuming the Warriors threw in every possible first round pick and some seconds.

Draymond Green though, isn’t what the Bucks have in mind.

"My early pulse on the re-trade value that Green might hold for the Bucks would have to be described as murky. The 35-year-old veteran holds a $27 million player option next season, which would naturally complicate Milwaukee's avenues to route him elsewhere," Fischer wrote. Then there's the premise of Green's age (35), particular play type and strong personality."

This is an eloquent way to talk about the challenges the Warriors face in hanging on to Butler and trying to trade Green. Of course both are on the table, but if Green is the best current player in the package, it’s got to be somewhere where this:

particular play type and strong personality.

Isn’t going to be a deal breaker.

Reportedly, the Bucks sent everyone back to their desks. Milwaukee (again, per reports) “have shown a reluctance to acquiring Draymond Green in any potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trade package” and that “Golden State would need to find another team willing to send Milwaukee draft capital to take on Green.”

So for Golden State, this means trying to engage another team. They’ve done huge transactions like this before3 - the Warriors don’t need anything super massive here, but the sweeter the offer the better.

Part of the reason the trade rumor season is so fun is because the imagination can spin up so fast - or maybe the players are just a touch too transparent in trying to publicly influence outcomes. Green has long been hinting at this eventuality, but he recently laid his cards on the table too and said, essentially, “if I’ve got to go, I’d like to play with LeBron please.”

“I’ve always wanted to [play with him]” Green said. “Saying I wanted to go to his team, that’s not the case. I’m very comfortable in my situation with 30 [Curry] and what we’ve built and what we have. But I think him and Steph shared the want to take the court together, and they got the opportunity to do that in the Olympics in Paris. I’ve always wanted the opportunity. Just to experience it, to see how he thinks, to see, all right, what I could do to help him and his thinking. Or what can I learn and pick up about what he’s thinking.”

That article is a fascinating piece, but more immediately (six hours after this article goes live), the Warriors will have to decide if they want to trade Green for what would essentially be trade offer sweetener. And yes, it’s Giannis, but an injured Giannis that comes for a couple of years of runs, both of which promise to be tenuous chances.

I brought this scenario up to a coworker today - and it didn’t seem like it carried much chance of occurring - but would it be so crazy if the Warriors facilitated Green to the Lakers? Especially if it cemented the acquisition of Giannis. Would the Lakers like to shore up their defense with Green? Rui Hachimura's expiring contract and Dalton Knecht as a prospect along with a first-round swap? It’s possible. Even in the same division, this could be a trade that makes sense for both franchises.

But whoa. Man. What a reality to wake up to. Or see unfold while I was in some business meeting, or drinking coffee.

And if it doesn’t? Well, things may well get extremely awkward around here.

So yes. I’ve been clicking refresh on my feeds while writing this article. I’m not at all sure that something won’t happen between the 10pm finish line for this writing, and 6am publish time that makes all of this moot.

What’s craziest about this current deadline is that it’s not just the Warriors that are running around with a sense of urgency - the entire league seems to be in a huge churn right now. Harden moved, Anthony Davis and Jaren Jackson too. This is a big trade year.

I’m a solid cook. And I can’t help but think about this situation in terms of watching tonight’s chicken and potatoes cook. Sometimes, as a chef, you’re just sort of standing there, gauging the passage of heat and time like your ancestors before you. It’s a universal truth, waiting and watching.

This is one of those moments where reality pinches in a little tighter, making everything seem…

OMG. There was a trade. Ha! Well. Back to the top, and I’ll publish it now. Hope you enjoyed.

Prediction

I asked Mrs. Punk about this, and she thinks there’s going to be a trade. If not a big one, then something small. “They’ve got to do something, right?” I love her, and she’s pretty much always right.

EDIT: She was - yet again - correct!

There is no evidence that Kuminga hates it in Golden State. Well, no hard evidence anyways.

Butler is set to make $54.3 million this season, ramping up to $56.8 in the following (final) year of his contract.

Yes, it was the Klay Thompson trade that broke NBA records for being so complicated that even trade machine players would laugh it out of the room. The Warriors, Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves all got involved in that Klay trade. Oh Dino.