We're less than a week into the 2026-27 NBA season, but the trade rumor mill never stops churning. And it got an influx of water with this week's news that the Golden State Warriors might be mulling over Kristaps Porziņģis trades.
With KP's Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) diagnosis unfortunately threatening his career and the careful construction of his current contract by the Warriors, he could essentially be a trade exception.
His 2026-27 salary is $20 million, and his contract is only guaranteed for another $3 million in 2027-28. A team looking for some financial flexibility (or to get out of their own cumbersome deal) could be interested in taking on Porziņģis, paying that $20 million this year and then eating the small guarantee to get out of the deal over the summer.
And if the Warriors were willing to pair him with a franchise legend (who's on an actual expiring contract) and take one more gamble for the sake of Stephen Curry, the New Orleans Pelicans may have exactly the kind of player who could give him one last shot a title.
The Deal
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Warriors Receive: Zion Williamson
Pelicans Receive: Draymond Green, Kristaps Porziņģis and a top-four protected 2027 first-round pick
Again, this is a gamble. And Warriors fans will certainly quibble with a pick going out in this deal.
But the cap math works, and we'll explain why both teams should be interested below.
Warriors Take One Last Swing
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Warriors Receive: Zion Williamson
Trading one health risk for another is not ideal. Surrendering a precious draft asset in the process makes it even less so. And prior to recent news on Porziņģis, Zion was arguably the biggest health risk in the league (with tongue-in-cheek apologies to KP and Joel Embiid).
But in this point in their careers, Zion would represent a massive talent upgrade over Draymond. And whatever that swap would cost Golden State defensively, Williamson could offset it on the other end.
When healthy (a caveat thrown around a lot, but always feels necessary in his case), Zion remains one of the most devastating interior scorers of all time. Among players wtih at least as many career minutes, Williamson's career average of 27.8 points per 75 possessions trails only Joel Embiid (31.6), Luka Dončić (30.6) and Michael Jordan (30.3).
The fact that he does so much of his damage inside the three-point line would make him a dynamic pairing with Curry. Zion has real gravity in the paint. Curry obviously has it from beyond the arc.
The push-and-pull they'd force on opposing defenses—especially once Jimmy Butler is back to facilitate—could once again give Golden State one of the NBA's most dangerous offenses.
Of course, they'd still be a long shot to even finish in the top six in the West and a longer one to seriously threaten the contenders. But right now, the Warriors are a "no shot" team, and it just feels wrong for that to be true of a team with Curry.
Pelicans Lean Into a New Era
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Pelicans Receive: Draymond Green, Kristaps Porziņģis and a top-four protected 2027 first-round pick
The logic on this side is a lot simpler.
New Orleans has only made the playoffs twice since Zion was drafted. It was eliminated in the first round both years, and Zion didn't play in either of those series.
He simply hasn't worked out as the face of the franchise. And now, the Pelicans have a couple of other candidates to fill that role in Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears.
This deal gets them out of the Zion contract set to pay him $44.9 million next season without taking on any other big money. It also shifts the team toward Queen and Fears and gives it an asset to build around them.
It'd make even more sense if they added to that asset cache with moves involving Trey Murphy, Dejounte Murray and Herb Jones, too. But the Pelicans have to start somewhere.
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