Warriors’ trade offer for Jazz All-Star Lauri Markkanen revealed: report

The Golden State Warriors have had a busy offseason.

No more news: Warriors GM discusses Steph Curry’s future in Golden State after Klay Thompson’s departure

They gave up one of their franchise’s all-time greats, Klay Thompson; they tried to pull off a blockbuster trade to acquire All-NBA forward Paul George; and they gave up future Hall of Famer Chris Paul.

They also added three key veterans – Buddy Hield, De’Anthony Melton and Kyle Anderson – as they look to build a contender in the later years of Stephen Curry’s career.

Meanwhile, the Warriors were engaged in trade talks with the Utah Jazz for All-Star big man Lauri Markkanen — and on Monday, a trade offer from the Warriors to Utah was revealed.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that the Warriors have been “the most engaged team for Markkanen in recent weeks.” He also says the Warriors have discussed a Moses Moody offer, multiple first-round picks, multiple pick swaps and multiple second-round picks.

However, Charania adds that the Jazz have “requested most of the young talent and capital the Warriors have,” which includes Moody, Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski, as well as picks. This deal was not a “starter deal” for Golden State.

Markkanen, 27, has made the leap to All-Star status in his final two NBA seasons. The former No. 7 overall pick of the Chicago Bulls out of Arizona won the 2022-23 Most Improved Player Award after averaging 25.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 49.9 percent from the field, 39.1 percent from three-point range and 87.5 percent from the free throw line.

Last season, Markkanen’s success continued on a struggling Utah team, averaging 23.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game on 48 percent shooting, 39.9 percent from deep and 89.9 percent from the free throw line.

Markkanen is entering the final year of his contract this season, making him an obvious candidate for a trade to a Jazz team that isn’t built to compete this year. The rebuilding Jazz would love to get a healthy dose of young talent and picks for Markkanen, which would help speed up their turnaround.

While the Warriors appear interested in moving Moody, they don’t seem as keen on adding Kuminga and/or Podziemski. Kuminga has been pivotal for the Warriors in 2023-24, and they view him as a key piece going forward. As for Podziemski, he had an impressive rookie season and should continue to play a significant role in Golden State’s rotation next year.

While the Warriors are more interested in a pick-laden package, the Jazz appear to want several young players who could fit right into their rotation. There’s still plenty of offseason left to get a deal done, but it remains to be seen if either team will budge on a potential package.