One important young player is valued more by the Warriors than another.
With big intentions, the Golden State Warriors started the offseason by threatening to move Chris Paul for a non-guaranteed $30 million contract in a number of trade negotiations across the league. Paul George could have joined Stephen Curry and Draymond Green at Golden State, but the ideal was dashed by the Warriors’ own reluctance.
The next person up for the Dubs front office position is Lauri Markkanen. Although CP3 and his tradeable salary are long gone, Golden State still has a ton of draft selections, Andrew Wiggins’ awkward contract, and a few good young players to sale for the Utah Jazz. It’s now a matter of assembling a plan that Utah and Danny Ainge will both agree to.
It’s a difficult scenario because Markkanen is a valued asset due to his age (27), highly versatile skill set, and contract that benefits the organization. If he stays in Salt Lake City, an extension is at least possible, thus the Jazz are under no need to trade him. Utah would only trade Markkanen in order to collapse and start again in the competition. Utah won’t take such action until the Warriors can provide a major boost to that process.
The Warriors apparently refused to part with Jonathan Kuminga, which is why the Paul George trade fell through. Currently, it seems that Golden State’s obsession with Brandin Podziemski is impeding the possibility of adding an All-Star. With his All-Rookie campaign just concluded, the Jazz want to trade for the sophomore guard from Santa Clara. Loved by the Warriors, they have no intention of trading him.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Warriors might actually be more willing to sell Kuminga—who was once considered to be virtually untouchable—in a possible Markkanen trade.
“However, there is also a growing consensus across the league that the Warriors would be more inclined to trade Jonathan Kuminga rather than Podziemski in exchange for Markkanen or any other big-swing deal. It is important to highlight, though, that Golden State has only offered Markkanen a package that includes draft compensation and Moses Moody—neither Podziemski nor Kuminga—up to this point.”
Warriors would rather trade Jonathan Kuminga to Lauri Markkanen than Brandin Podziemski.
Well, we can flatly say the Warriors aren’t getting this deal across the finish line without including at least one of Kuminga or Podziemski. It’s fair to express trepidation about including both, which is surely what Utah’s first counteroffer was, but we are talking about a 27-year-old All-Star making $18 million this season, with a skill set perfectly tailored to the Warriors’ motion offense. There isn’t a chance Markkanen ends up in San Francisco without at least one core young talent going the opposite direction to Utah.
Whichever prospect Golden State values most doesn’t have to match Utah’s inclination. The Jazz could take a chance on Kuminga’s size, strength, and athleticism. Meanwhile, Podziemski is a winning player in every sense of the word and has the confidence of Steve Kerr, which is a very rare thing for a 21-year-old. Golden State would be trying to win by getting Markkanen, who would most likely take Kuminga’s starting position in the starting rotation. Therefore, it makes sense that the Warriors would prefer Podziemski.
Reports, however, make it evident that the Jazz likely see Podziemski as the more valuable player, which is why the momentum has stalled. It’s unknown how committed Golden State is to holding onto Podziemski, or how determined Utah is to wait for an offer before making a move for him. It is necessary to envision a fitting bundle to be constructed around Kuminga, Moody, and an abundance of choices. There should be a compromise if the Jazz are truly interested in trading Markkanen, and that “if” is crucial to this whole situation.
Kuminga’s portrayal in this light is noteworthy, though, given that Golden State effectively told the Los Angeles Clippers to move on from their talks with Paul George. Kuminga has been viewed for a long time as the Warriors’ key component, and he still is. However, it’s evident that he may still be defeated by the correct All-Star. Let’s see if Markkanen turns out to be that All-Star.