Warriors need another Heat-style Jimmy Butler drama to escape Porzingis disaster

Writer Peter O'Keefe argues that the Golden State Warriors need an external crisis to arise at a rival NBA team to successfully offload Kristaps Porzingis. With Porzingis potentially unable to play professional basketball again, the writer contends that general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. holds zero leverage and risks having to sacrifice heavy draft capital to acquire a starting-caliber center.

The piece notes Golden State's center deficiency was exposed by Walker Kessler in their season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers. O'Keefe suggests the Warriors must replicate their past trade for Jimmy Butler, when they capitalized on Butler's contract dispute with the Miami Heat to land the star without overpaying.