Unpacking Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy’s post-trade deadline press conference

LOS ANGELES– There is a lot to unpack from Golden State Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy’s loaded press conference following the NBA trade deadline, which makes sense in the context of how active the team was at the deadline, how important it was for their short and long-term future, and the moves they made and didn’t make. But to sum up how Dunleavy feels about the Warriors’ moves at the deadline, it’s safe to say he feels good about how the team has positioned itself.

“We feel good with what we did,” Dunleavy began his presser. “Adding Kristaps, for sure, adding a second-round pick, doing some stuff for the summer, looking at that and some things that can help us… We’re excited about our additions here, so looking forward to getting KP in the mix and moving forward.”

To recap the Warriors’ trade deadline, Golden State struck out in their pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, dealt Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks, sent Trayce Jackson-Davis to the Toronto Raptors for a Lakers’ 2026 second-round pick, and signed two-way Pat Spencer to a standard contract. They preserved their picks at the cost of not adding a superstar to replace Jimmy Butler, exchanged a player catching DNPs for a player who can be elite if healthy, and took care of business on the fringes.

A lot of action that ultimately didn’t change the team all that much, but does have heavy implications on the Warriors’ future moving forward. Namely, is the Porzingis addition enough to stay in contention? Are they confident he can stay healthy? And what about their plans for the summer? Will they still pursue Antetokounmpo or other stars? A lot on Dunleavy’s plate that he both did and didn’t answer.

Dunleavy’s strange push back on Draymond Green trade talk

It’s been well-reported that franchise legend Draymond Green was in trade talks for Antetokounmpo. Green himself, on his podcast, said that Dunleavy told him it would have to be either him or Butler in a deal.

“What it said to me in that moment was there’s a chance I may get traded for Giannis, because he didn’t rule it out,” Green said on his show. “He didn’t say, ‘We’re not putting you in the deal.’ So I took that as, all right, it’ll probably be me.”

But Dunleavy pushed back on the notion that Green was ever in trade conversations.

“His name was not in conversations other than the ones where teams call me and ask about him, which they do every year, so nothing’s new there,” Dunleavy said. “The idea that ‘he stayed with the Warriors past the deadline’ was greatly exaggerated. It was never a possibility of him not being here, remotely close to be honest, and I’ve conveyed that to him.

“It’s a little bit misleading, and we’re kind of picking up the pieces here, but I think he’s in a great spot, and so are we moving forward.”

Things got even stranger when a reporter followed up by pointing out that if Green wasn’t in trade talks, did that mean they weren’t close in their pursuit of Antetokounmpo, to which Dunleavy replied, “Well, you’re putting words in my mouth, so that’s an unbelievable assumption.”

When asked if that meant Butler was on the table instead of Green, given that either Green or Butler would have had to been traded to acquire Antetokounmpo, Dunleavy shut down that whole line of questioning.

“No, no, no,” Dunleavy said. “We’re not doing that. I’m not going [through] the roster talking about who’s in trades and who’s not. We don’t do that.”

It was a rare moment of fire and inconsistency for the general manager, given the reports out there. With how contradictory Dunleavy was, it puts into question the Warriors’ willingness to go all-in for Antetokounmpo. It also murkies who they were more willing to part with between Green and Butler.

Mike Dunleavy pushed back on the notion they were shopping Draymond Green at the deadline:

“His name was not in conversations other than the ones where teams called me and asked about him… It was never a possibility of him not being here.”

Also pushed back on shopping Butler. pic.twitter.com/YBqylCJvmJ

— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) February 8, 2026

Kristaps Porzingis’ addition to the Warriors

Dunleavy was far less combative when asked about the addition of Porzingis and his health history. Over the last two seasons, Porzingis has only played a total of 59 games, dealing with several lower-extremity injuries as well as Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). When healthy, the big man has demonstrated a ceiling capable of swinging NBA titles, as shown in his dominant 2024 NBA Finals. But health has been a big if for Porzingis, which is why he was even attainable in the first place.

But Dunleavy’s confident in the risk they’re taking on Porzingis.

“We feel good about it; we looked into it pretty in depth,” Dunleavy said. “We believe in our medical staff. There’s no guarantees, there’s no certainty, but with kind of where he’s at right now, where he’s been, we feel good about it. And you know, the other end of it, in terms of what we’re sending out, we’re sending out a player in a similar boat who struggled to stay on the floor. So I think, from our standpoint, we recognize the risk medically, but, you know, it’s a risk we’re willing to take.”

That middle section was a bit of a dig on Kuminga, who’s had his own share of injuries this season, including a bone bruise he’s currently dealing with. But Dunleavy’s optimism risk-wise is simple. The Warriors were getting nothing from Kuminga. If they get nothing from Porzingis, it’s net-neutral based on what Kuminga was giving them. But if he does stay healthy, he has a real chance of helping Golden State.

“I think this addition for us could be really good,” Dunleavy remarked. “Similar to the addition of Jimmy, the way he gave us a boost. I think this is similar, maybe not to that level.”

Housekeeping points and other gems

Dunleavy repeated team-building philosophies that he’s said in the past. They are willing to use whatever it takes to keep Curry’s window open. Whether that’s their precious post-Curry picks, young talent, old talent, tradeable salary, whatever, they’re willing to deal. But as Dunleavy said in the past, it has to be the right kind of targets. It’s why he’s happy with the Porzingis trade– an expiring contract with high upside that they didn’t have to expend picks or real assets on.

On a smaller scale, he also expressed the Warriors’ excitement to get Spencer on a standard contract, saying that clearing up a roster spot for him was an emphasis this deadline. And with another roster spot available, thanks to three players going out and only one coming back in, he expects the Warriors to explore the buyout market. Lonzo Ball is one name being floated along those lines. So all in all, Dunleavy publicly feels like they’re in a good place.

But it’s also important to point out, in terms of how he feels about the Warriors’ deadline activity, that Dunleavy doesn’t feel like the Antetokounmpo pursuit affected the possibility of making other trades.

“I don’t think it did,” Dunleavy said briskly when asked about that. “Because we ended up making a move here to get Kristaps, and so for that reason, like, I guess it didn’t really affect anything.”

That’s Dunleavy’s sentiment, but a hard one to believe. The Porzingis trade was a late pivot from the Warriors as they preserved their assets in the hopes that a deal could be made with the Bucks. Ramona Shelburne reported that they explored a deal for Jaren Jackson Jr. but tabled discussions to keep picks available to acquire Antetokounmpo. That’s certainly an example of how that pursuit affected their trade targets.

A loaded Dunleavy presser regarding the trade deadline.

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