The Golden State Warriors have gotten off to a tepid start to the 2025-26 NBA season, currently sitting at 9-7 after Tuesday night's road loss vs the Orlando Magic. While Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler have both been playing some good basketball of late, the Warriors are looking for a lot more out of late offseason signee Al Horford.
Horford has had an abysmal start to his tenure in the Bay Area, averaging 5.7 points on just 33.8 percent shooting from the field and 31.9 percent from beyond the arc, both steep dropoffs from what we saw from him most recently with the Boston Celtics.
Coming into this season, many were anticipating that Horford could be one of the best big men of the Warriors' entire dynastic era (which is not a high bar to reach) even at the age of 39, but thus far, that has been far from the case.
With this becoming such a glaring issue so early in the season, it's not outside the realm of possibility that the Warriors could pursue a trade for a more serviceable big man.
So far this season, several big name power forwards and centers have seen their names floated in trade rumors, including New Orleans Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson and Dallas Mavericks power forward Anthony Davis, both of whom are currently out of the lineup due to injuries.
Meanwhile, reports recently surfaced that Draymond Green had shot down a potential Lauri Markannen trade that the Warriors had orchestrated with the Utah Jazz, so it's unlikely that anything will materialize on that front in the present day.
The Warriors could also go for smaller targets on the trade market, such as Nic Claxton, who has quietly been putting together a strong year on a putrid Brooklyn Nets team, or perhaps someone like Robert Williams III of the Portland Trail Blazers, who currently have a bit of a logjam at the center position.
Whatever they choose to do, it's already abundantly clear that the Warriors need an upgrade at center.
