Warriors Fans React to Landing Kristaps Porzingis After Missing Out on Giannis Trade

It was quite the Wednesday for the Golden State Warriors.

First, ESPN's Shams Charania reported they traded Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks for Kristaps Porziņģis. Then, Charania reported they traded Trayce Jackson-Davis to the Toronto Raptors for a 2026 second-round pick that came from the Los Angeles Lakers.

Perhaps most notably, NBA insider Marc Stein reported trading Kuminga means the Warriors are surely "out of contention" for Giannis Antetokounmpo since the swingman was "central" to any offer for the Milwaukee Bucks star.

According to Brett Siegel of Clutch Points, the Warriors "pivoted" from Antetokounmpo on Wednesday afternoon when Milwaukee said it would not accept their offer.

Charania also reported Golden State's "pursuit of Giannis after a week is over" after it made a "pick-heavy" offer that would have included Draymond Green. Anthony Slater of ESPN reported the team now plans to keep Green and pair him with Porziņģis.

Social media had no shortage of reaction to the developments:

At this point, contention in the daunting Western Conference still feels like a long shot for Golden State. It is in play-in position with the No. 8 seed and four games behind the Lakers for the No. 6 seed and a spot in the first round.

Jimmy Butler is also out for the season, although Porziņģis at least gives the team another go-to option on the offensive end alongside Stephen Curry.

The combination could be an ideal one, as the big man can hit from the outside as a matchup problem when opposing defenses collapse on Curry or work in pick-and-rolls to create space for himself and the guard to exploit.

First, he has to return to the court since he hasn't played since Jan. 7.

But even when he returns, he isn't a franchise-altering superstar like Antetokounmpo. Pairing the future Hall of famer with Curry would have been quite the problem for Western Conference opponents and perhaps given the Warriors an opportunity to compete for another ring in what may be the latter stages of No. 30's career. 

Porziņģis raises the ceiling, but how much will remain a question into the playoffs.