Report: Warriors submit ‘substantial’ trade offer for Markkanen to Jazz

Report: Warriors presented ‘substantial’ trade offer for Markkanen to Jazz, originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

As Dub Nation eagerly awaits updates on the Lauri Markkanen trade sweepstakes, general manager Mike Dunleavy and Warriors management appear to have done their part in the effort to land the star forward.

Golden State has extended a substantial offer to the Utah Jazz for the NBA All-Star big man, The Athletic’s Tony Jones confirmed Friday during an interview on 95.7 The Game.

“Golden State has an offer on the table, and I think it’s a substantial offer,” Jones said. “The Jazz can only answer that question for themselves. What they’re looking for.”

Jones also explained that while current offers from Golden State and other teams are heavily anchored in draft picks, Utah could look for an additional asset such as a promising youngster to grow with the Jazz.

“I think the level of offers that are out there is substantial,” Jones said. “I think a lot of it is based on the picks. I think with some of the offers, there are one or two young players that have the potential to progress over the course of their careers.”

While Golden State’s offer is reportedly solid, the path to getting Markkanen could be complicated due to the draft capital the Warriors have.

“I think one thing that complicates Golden State’s package is that they (the Warriors) essentially only have two unprotected first-round picks (2026 and 2028),” Jones said. “You look at what Mikal Bridges picked a couple weeks ago, he picked five (first-round picks), and it wasn’t just five first-round picks. It was five first-round picks, plus trades, plus Bojan Bogdanović. I think all of that has to be taken into consideration when you think about what Lauri Markkanen could potentially pick.”

While Markkanen appears to be the Warriors’ big acquisition, neither they nor the Jazz are desperate to get a deal done right away. There will likely be plenty of back-and-forth between the two sides, with a prolonged negotiation likely to precede any potential trade.

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