Warriors injury news could lead to Bucks trading Myles Turner

The Golden State Warriors appear to be down yet another prominent player to start the 2026-27 NBA season. Shams Charania of ESPN reported the unfortunate news that Golden State is considering trading Kristaps Porzingis as he continues to be without a timeline to return to the court.

Porzingis' health has been a key storyline surrounding him for multiple seasons now, with an autoimmune condition known as POTS preventing him from playing NBA basketball. Hopefully Porzingis is able to fully recover from this and get back on the floor at some point, but the horizon on that front seems cloudy.

The Warriors specifically really can't wait on Porzingis, as he isn't their only unavailable player. Outside of Porzingis, Golden State is also dealing with Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody sidelined for at least the first months of the season, and maybe all of it in Moody's case.

Trying to win in a salary-capped league with nearly $89 million in combined cap hits sidelined is like trying to hit jumpers with a hand tied behind your proverbial back. Especially considering Steph Curry will likely miss some time in his age 38 season, pushing the injured cap hit number north of $151 million when he sits out. That is nearly as much as the $164.9 NBA salary cap this season in injured players alone.

Without an aging icon like Curry, the Milwaukee Bucks aren't necessarily trying as hard to win this season. The Bucks could offer a productive stretch five to replace Porzingis in exchange for more building blocks.

Myles Turner was a huge swing and miss for Bucks GM Jon Horst in trying to retain Giannis Antetokounmpo, but has been durable throughout his career and adds the same floor spacing element from the center position as Porzingis. That extra space is especially handy considering Draymond Green's offensive limitations at this stage of his career.

The Bucks have been in asset-accumulation mode this year, adding Caris LeVert and a pair of second-round picks from Detroit in addition to all of the draft capital they got in the Giannis deal. Adding another first round pick or two to swap out Turner for Porzingis would be a logical move as Milwaukee continues building for the future.

The Warriors have fallen mightily from their dynastic days but still have Curry and Green plus some useful supporting pieces. Their current outlook could lead to Golden State's first-round pick in 2027 being quite valuable in this new lottery system that rewards mediocre teams more than truly awful ones.

Milwaukee doesn't currently control any first-round pick in 2027. Although the upcoming draft class is viewed as weak, there will doubtlessly be talented players who emerge from the lottery. Having more bites at the apple has certainly worked for the neighboring Brewers.

Another benefit for the Bucks in making some sort of Porzingis/Turner swap would be cap flexibility next offseason. While Porzingis technically has a $20 million player option, only $3 million of the option is guaranteed.

Milwaukee is set to have upward of $65 million in cap space before accounting for expiring contracts like Tyler Herro, Ryan Rollins, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. next summer. Removing Turner in exchange for Porzingis' $3 million partial guarantee would bump that number up to nearly $90 million, giving Milwaukee flexibility to re-sign key players and still operate with ample cap space.

That cap space likely won't turn into a top-tier free agent given the Bucks' market and current lack of talent, but going after young players in restricted free agency or absorbing other contracts for more draft picks or to simply add talent are always viable options as well.

The theme of this season for Milwaukee will be exploring the limits of what the young Bucks can do, and any Turner trade would also pave the way to Kel'el Ware starting at center for the Bucks. If Ware is going to contend for Most Improved Player, he'll need lots of minutes to show how he's grown as a player.

Is adding picks and flexibility worth losing a productive player and good vet in Myles Turner? That depends on how much the Warriors would be willing to add onto Porzingis' contract to entice the Bucks. Getting an unprotected first-round pick and shedding tens of millions of dollars from the cap sheet is hard to turn down for a team in the Bucks' current position.

Per Sam Amick of The Athletic, Golden State indeed does have interest in a Porzingis/Turner swap, although Milwaukee does not. The report doesn't specify whether the Warriors offered draft compensation to entice the Bucks to swap Turner for Porzingis, and this could just be Milwaukee posturing to extract more value in such a deal. For now, though, the reporting doesn't make it seem like this deal is on the verge of being done.

It's certainly worth Milwaukee at least exploring into the trade calls Golden State is reportedly holding to see how badly the Warriors want to give Curry a legitimate supporting cast this season.