Ranking Warriors’ best trade options at center ahead of 2026 deadline

The Golden State Warriors are widely expected to pull off a blockbuster trade, with Jonathan Kuminga being the main piece headed out of the Bay. The writing has long been on the wall for Kuminga with regards to his stint with the Warriors, and it’s telling that he’s been healthy scratch over the past few weeks.

The most commonly floated trade scenario for the Warriors is to acquire a sharpshooting volume-scorer in exchange for Kuminga as well as a few other contracts. To that end, Michael Porter Jr. and Trey Murphy have stood out as potential trade targets for the Dubs, with the former being extensively linked to a move to the Bay especially as of late.

However, the Warriors have had a longstanding need for a center, and ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel suggested that they could instead flip Kuminga to address that need of theirs. Such a maneuver, one would think, would cost the Dubs fewer assets, which is more in line with how they conduct business.

If the Warriors do end up going the center route on the trade market, they have plenty of options to choose from. Now, it all depends on which kind of center they want to get; they could get a high-flying, shot-blocking lob threat to add a different kind of center to the roster, or they could double down on a floor-spacing center who could operate within the Dubs offense.

With that said, here are the Warriors’ best trade options at center ahead of the 2026 NBA trade deadline.

5. Domantas Sabonis

Domantas Sabonis appears to be very much gettable on the trade market, with the Sacramento Kings seemingly making their star big man available. The Toronto Raptors, in particular, have emerged as Sabonis’ biggest suitor, and to be fair, that seems to be a very good landing spot for him, as Toronto has the defensive weapons to help cover for whatever deficiencies he has on that end of the floor.

As for the Warriors, Sabonis would give them a legitimate glass-cleaner, and he would thrive as a playmaking hub for the Warriors’ offense. He is one of the league’s best handoff orchestrators, with the Kings thriving in the past under his offensive leadership, and he could do the same for the Dubs.

Alas, Sabonis is set to make $45.4 million and $48.6 million, respectively, for the next two seasons. That is a huge cap commitment for the Dubs to make. This would also force them to gut their depth just to try and make salaries match. He’s nothing more than a pipe dream target for the Dubs, although he makes sense at least from a basketball perspective.

4. Daniel Gafford

At this point, the idea of Daniel Gafford is much more appealing than the actual Daniel Gafford. Gafford’s injury problems has rendered him a shell of his former self, and he’s been struggling to make much of an impact even with injury issues ravaging the Dallas Mavericks’ frontcourt.

However, it’s easy to see a path for Gafford to be more productive moving forward. He thrived in the Mavs’ Luka Doncic-led offense in the past as a premier lob threat, and he’s mobile enough to defend the pick-and-roll and be an intimidating shot-blocking presence at the basket.

With the Warriors, Gafford would feast as the designated man on the dunker’s spot — think of Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, or JaVale McGee in past Dubs iterations — on Green-led 4-on-3s off of screen-and-rolls with Stephen Curry. With Trayce Jackson-Davis being unplayable, Gafford easily becomes the best shot-blocker on the Warriors roster, giving them a different dimension from the more ground-bound Quinten Post and Al Horford.

Gafford wouldn’t cost too much on the trade market as well; they could even get him without giving Kuminga up. However, Gafford is a risky play because of his substandard production this season.

3. Myles Turner

Myles Turner is a proven starting center option in the association, and he’s not shy about letting it fly from beyond the arc. He would be a great fit on the Warriors starting lineup as someone who could do similar stuff for them as Horford. Of course, Turner is 10 years younger than Horford, making him that much more playoff-viable.

The contract obligation is steep, as Turner is under contract until the 2028-29 campaign. But he’s not making too much per annum anyway, and his skillset as a three-point shooting rim-protector makes him an appealing player to have for any team with winning aspirations, the Warriors included.

But do the Warriors need another center who’s not a dominant rebounder and interior presence? Turner’s foot speed is also on the decline, particularly on the defensive end. While he’s a better option at center than Post and Horford, it may not make too much sense for the Milwaukee Bucks center to be the main return they get for Kuminga.

Moreover, the Bucks may be hesitant to give Turner up anyway considering that they made him a priority this past offseason and they waived and stretched Damian Lillard just to create the space that was needed to sign him.

2. Nic Claxton

This would involve the Warriors making a trade with the Nets, but without acquiring Porter. That seems to be a waste, as Porter’s volume-scoring ways seem to be exactly what Golden State needs to try and fuel their push for an outright playoff spot.

Nonetheless, Claxton has revived his value this season in Brooklyn, with head coach Jordi Fernandez getting the best out of the 26-year-old big man. He’s no longer the shot-blocker he was, perhaps due to some athletic decline brought forth by injuries, but he’s expanded his game considerably, particularly on the offensive end, that he’s now more than just a lob threat.

Claxton has improved his passing chops considerably. He’s averaging a career-best 4.1 assists per game, and his improved feel for the game makes him that much more dangerous of a weapon under Steve Kerr’s tutelage.

Kuminga’s contract almost lines up perfectly for Claxton, and the Warriors would not have to surrender as many assets as they would need to for Porter as they would for the Nets’ starting center.

In terms of practicality, this is the center trade that makes the most sense for the Warriors. But they may as well dream big if they go the center route.

1. Ivica Zubac

The Los Angeles Clippers have been adamant that they would not be trading away their core trio of Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Ivica Zubac despite enduring a rough start to the 2025-26 campaign. And it seems like the front office’s belief in that core is paying off, as the Clippers have been steadily climbing the West standings, as they are now just 1.5 games back from a play-in tournament spot.

This should effectively take Zubac off the trade market, and the Warriors are better off focusing their resources on other trade targets. But Zubac would be so good for this Warriors squad that he deserves the top spot on these rankings.

Zubac gives the Warriors a legitimate interior scoring threat and a glass-cleaner who’s automatic near the hoop. But perhaps most importantly, he’s under contract for a total of around $39 million for the next two seasons, making him one of the biggest bargains in the association.

He would require the Warriors to change their style of play a bit, and Kerr might be hesitant to do so. But the Dubs have been so reliant on perimeter shooting that having someone that draws as much defensive attention as Zubac does in the paint would open up so many cleaner looks for them from beyond the arc.

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