Ever since the off-season began, the Golden State Warriors have been rumored to make a push for Lauri Markkanen. While the reports initially touted that the Bay Area side was the favorite to acquire the Finnish star, the potential deal seemed to have fizzled out. However, NBA insider Zach Lowe details how Joe Lacob’s team is still in contention to add Markkanen to the Stephen Curry and Draymond Green co-led squad.
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The hype about Markkanen being potentially acquired by the Warriors has drastically mellowed down. However, Zach Lowe believes that Mike Dunleavy Jr. is still persistent in going through with the move. During the latest episode of NBA Today, the ESPN insider claimed that the Warriors, to fulfill their goals of contending for the championship, are looking to replace Klay Thompson with a talented player.
Markkanen, who can play center in the Warriors’ small-ball lineup, is looked at as a good fit by the Warriors front office. However, a concrete update regarding the move can only be given on August 6th when the 27-year-old becomes eligible to re-negotiate his contract with the Utah Jazz.
“The standard (for the Warriors) is contend for a title. They are not there and that’s why I think we are gonna continue to hear them connected to Lauri Markkanen… I don’t think those conversations are gonna end until at the earliest August 6th when Lauri Markkanen is eligible to re-negotiate his contract and extend it with Utah and get a little clarity there and then he can be traded before the trade deadline.”
Lowe further claimed, “I think they like him, they like the idea of his fit with Steph Curry and Draymond Green. It’s sort of a shooting center to replicate the death lineup they had all those years ago.”
The addition of Markkanen will result in the inevitable loss of assets. Apart from a plethora of draft picks, the Jazz are also reportedly interested in gaining two of the three talented youngsters – Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga, or Moses Moody. However, Lowe poses a great question while giving his two cents on the Jazz’s asking price from the Warriors for the European star:
“But Utah is gonna want a lot and it’s all gonna come down to price – how much of our future are we willing to sacrifice for a team that maybe really good but maybe not quite good enough. It also depends how great you think that team with Steph and Markkanen and Green and whoever is left over – is it a title contender or is it just a really good team?”
Zach Lowe: “I think the Warriors are still in the mix for a Lauri Markkanen trade”pic.twitter.com/B3bQhHVMdU
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) July 23, 2024
The loss of either of the three players will hurt the Warriors significantly. While Kuminga has solidified his role as a starting forward, Brandin Podziemski is reportedly going to fill in for Klay Thompson’s spot in the starting lineup. Moses Moody might be the only player whose absence wouldn’t hurt the team as much, however, the Jazz have already rejected the idea of only gaining one player from this deal. It’ll be interesting to see what the Golden State Warriors will finally offer for a potential shot at winning the title.
