Quinten Post is barely out the door with the Golden State Warriors, but there’s already talk of bringing him back. A new trade idea suggests swapping Kristaps Porzingis for Post in a deal with the Memphis Grizzlies. This would basically undo the Warriors’ offseason move where they signed Porzingis to a two-year, $40 million deal but let Post walk to Memphis on a three-year, $30 million offer.
Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints brought up the idea, noting the Grizzlies have a $28.8 million traded player exception they could use to take on Porzingis’ contract. The catch? It would likely cost the Warriors a first-round draft pick to make it happen. That’s a tough pill to swallow, especially since Post isn’t exactly a starting-caliber center. The Warriors could have simply let Porzingis go and re-signed Post for less in the first place.
This isn’t the first time Golden State has done something like this. They let Gary Payton II walk to Portland after the 2022 championship, only to trade for him mid-season, sending out James Wiseman in the process. So the history is there, but flipping Porzingis for Post would feel like a step backward. The Warriors really need a better center than what Post can offer, and giving up draft capital to fix a mistake they made themselves seems unlikely.
The Grizzlies’ traded player exception could still be useful, but maybe as part of a three-team deal where Golden State lands a better big man.
