The Golden State Warriors are running out of options to replace Klay Thompson with a star talent by way of a summer trade, but the franchise remains in contention for perhaps the best player still available.
Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report on Wednesday, July 3, reported that the Dubs are aggressively pursuing a deal with the Utah Jazz to acquire Lauri Markkanen.
“[The Warriors] are the aggressor in this Lauri Markkanen sweepstakes,” Haynes reported. “They are trying to do whatever they can to get into the fold, but it’s going to be a costly price to get Lauri. The Utah Jazz, they don’t necessarily want to trade Lauri, but they will for the right price tag.”
Markkanen is a 7-foot stretch big who is just beginning his prime, as he will play next season at the age of 27. He averaged 25.6 points per contest in the 2022-23 campaign, during which he earned an All-Star Team selection and won the league’s Most Improved Player Award.
He put up 23.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game last season, according to Basketball Reference, and is a career 37.5% 3-point shooter on 6.6 attempts per outing.
Warriors Will Have to Mortgage Future for Lauri Markkanen
GettyLauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz drives the ball against Brandin Podziemski of the Golden State Warriors during an NBA game.
The greatest concern for Golden State when it comes to its pursuit of Markkanen won’t be fit alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, but rather the cost of the 7-footer’s acquisition.
Markkanen is entering the final season of a four-year, $67.5 million contract that pays him just north of $18 million in 2024-25. That is an exceedingly affordable deal for a player of Markkanen’s caliber, though the extension he would inevitably demand of the Dubs would be substantial enough to make him the second-highest paid player on the roster behind Curry starting in 2025-26.
The Warriors would, of course, have no choice but to oblige considering how much draft capital and young talent they would need to part with in order to secure Markkanen’s services in the first place.
Danny Ainge, the CEO of basketball operations for the Jazz, has a long history of winning trades by milking enormous amounts of assets from his negotiating partners. He landed the equivalent of five first-round draft picks plus a first-round pick swap and several established players from the Minnesota Timberwolves for Rudy Gobert just two years ago, and there is no reason to think the price for Markkanen won’t prove just as onerous.
“It’s going to be a daunting task. So what can the Warriors do to come up with the picks necessary?” Haynes said. “Brandin Podziemski — can you get two firsts? A first? [Jonathan] Kuminga? It would really put a dent in the Warriors’ roster to try to make that deal happen.”
Warriors Face Real Competition in Trade Sweepstakes for Lauri Markkanen
GettyLauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz.
Yet more problematic for the Warriors in their pursuit of Markkanen is that both the Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs are motivated to trade for the budding star as well, among other potential suitors.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported via the July 3 edition of the “No Cap Room” podcast that the Kings and Jazz were “close” to reaching an agreement for Markkanen early in the week.
“The Kings, to my knowledge, earlier this week were close to a deal,” Fischer said a little more than 40 minutes into the pod.
Lauri Markkanen Almost Certainly on Trade Market, Despite Posturing From Jazz
GettyDanny Ainge of the Utah Jazz.
Fischer added that the Jazz are operating as though there is only a “10% chance” they will move on from Markkanen, though that could just as easily be a negotiating position that the team is floating through the media to gain extra leverage.
Utah faces a stacked Western Conference, in which as many as 13 of its 15 member franchises will compete for one of eight playoff spots next season. The Jazz will be the 14th such team if they decide to keep Markkanen and play to win every game, but that makes little sense with a younger and less talented roster than most of the competition.
It strains even more credulity that Utah isn’t interested in moving Markkanen unless an interested suitor moves mountains with an offer to acquire him considering the exceptional depth of talent in each of the next two NBA drafts. Ainge used No. 3 overall picks in back-to-back drafts in 2016 and 2017 to select Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, building the foundation for a Boston Celtics roster that just won the title last month.
With as well as that blueprint ended up working, fans should expect the Jazz to take the same approach in the next two offseasons, which means Markkanen eventually has to go — either this summer or ahead of next year’s trade deadline.
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