New report on Warriors' trade offer for Lauri Markkanen

It has been reported for months that the Utah Jazz are not actively looking to sign star forward Lauri Markkanen. While Utah seems more than content to keep Markkanen, they also understand the significant offers many teams would be willing to make to acquire him, making a trade a possibility that can’t be entirely ruled out.

In a recent article by Tony Jones of The Athletic, it was reported that the Golden State Warriors are among the teams interested in Markkanen, but they are not expected to offer Jonathan Kuminga.

“The Jazz also know that many of the teams trying to convince them to trade Markkanen are trying to add to their core, not subtract. So Golden State isn’t going to offer Jonathan Kuminga,” Jones wrote. “The Kings aren’t going to offer Murray. If the Oklahoma City Thunder come calling, they aren’t going to offer Jalen Williams. Most of the offers the Jazz have on the table are pick-heavy. But if the Jazz trade Markkanen for someone, he’ll probably make this team a lot better. So how good will those picks ultimately be? That’s a question the Jazz have to answer.”

Based on this report, it appears that Golden State could beat out most offers for Markkanen if they included Kuminga, assuming their collection of draft assets is similar to what other teams are offering. That said, the Warriors have now left Kuminga out of several potential trades that would have given Steph Curry a bona fide second option, indicating that the organization is unlikely to change its stance.

⚡️ 16.1 points per game, a career high
⚡️ Most dunks in a single season in Warriors history
⚡️ 74 games played, a career high

Jonathan Kuminga had his own season pic.twitter.com/ouwvhZL5ui

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 26, 2024

Kuminga is coming off the best season of his career, but the young forward would still need to make a significant leap forward to match the other co-stars in the Western Conference alone. And that doesn’t even take into account Golden State’s underwhelming roster outside of Curry and Kuminga.

For example, the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks have Kyrie Irving alongside Luka Doncic. The Denver Nuggets have Jamal Murray and an elite supporting cast alongside Nikola Jokic. The Minnesota Timberwolves have Karl Anthony-Towns and Rudy Gobert around Anthony Edwards. The Oklahoma City Thunder finished first in the Western Conference last season and have won the offseason so far in the eyes of many.

Sam Presti’s Offseason

• Josh Giddey was traded for Alex Caruso

• Writing of Nikola topic n°12

• Trade multiple 2nds for #26 and draft Dillon Jones

• Trade Lindy Waters and cash for Ajay Mitchell at No. 38

• Sign Isaiah Joe for 4 years/48 months

• Sign Aaron Wiggins for 5 years/45 months

• Sign… pic.twitter.com/pFDVDDvuv3

— TF (@ThunderFocus) July 1, 2024

After missing the playoffs, Golden State gave up Chris Paul’s $30 million salary that they were supposed to use in a trade, lost Klay Thompson to the Mavericks in exchange for second-round picks and signed De’Anthony Melton.

In terms of Western Conference progression, Golden State is far from contention, even if Kuminga takes a leap forward next season. That’s why how the Warriors approach the rest of this trading period will speak volumes about how much they value Curry’s remaining years of stardom.

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