New Report on Warriors’ Trade Offer for Lauri Markkanen

It has been reported for months that the Utah Jazz are not actively shopping star forward Lauri Markkanen. While Utah seems more than content to keep Markkanen around, they also understand the sizable offers many teams would be willing to part with in order to land him, making a trade something that cannot be entirely ruled out.

In a recent article from 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.

“Jazz also knows that many of the teams attempting to convince them to trade Markkanen are attempting to add to their core, and not subtract. So, Golden State is not going to offer Jonathan Kuminga,” Jones wrote. “The Kings won’t offer Murray. If the Oklahoma City Thunder call, they aren’t offering Jalen Williams. Many of the offers the Jazz have on the table are pick heavy. But if the Jazz trade Markkanen to anyone, they are likely making that team quite a bit better. So, how good will those picks ultimately be? That’s a question the Jazz have to answer.”

Based on this report, it seems Golden State could beat most offers for Markkanen if they included Kuminga, assuming their collection of draft assets was similar to what other teams are offering. That said, the Warriors have now kept Kuminga out of multiple potential deals that would have landed Steph Curry a bonafide second option, indicating the organization is unlikely to pivot from that stance.

Kuminga is coming off the best season of his career, but it would still require a significant leap from the young forward in order for him to be on the level of other co-stars in just the Western Conference alone. And that doesn’t even account for the underwhelming roster Golden State has 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 next to Nikola Jokic. The Minnesota Timberwolves have Karl Anthony-Towns and Rudy Gobert surrounding 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.

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

Going up and down the Western Conference, Golden State is far from contention even if Kuminga makes a star leap next season. This is why how the Warriors approach the remainder of this transaction period will speak volumes about how they truly value the final years of Curry’s superstardom.

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