The Golden State Warriors are coming strong after Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz and if they bring enough to the table, they might be able to nab his front-court running mate Walker Kessler as well.
The Bleacher Report Live Stream suggested a trade proposal on Saturday, July 6, in which the Dubs would send Jonathan Kuminga, Kevon Looney, Moses Moody, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and two first-round picks in 2025 and 2027 to the Jazz in exchange for the pair of 7-footers.
Utah will likely look to move Markkanen this offseason as it positions itself for high picks in the next couple of NBA drafts, both of which will be stacked. However, competition for Markkanene from contenders and quasi-contenders across the league who have struck out to this point in the summer will be fierce, which could leave Golden State in a tough position.
“A pile of teams have shown interest in him including the San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings, Miami Heat and Warriors, sources said,” Zach Lowe of ESPN reported on July 5.
Warriors May Not Possess Enough Draft Capital to Land Lauri Markkanen in Trade With Jazz
GettyLauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz.
The Warriors have already made one “substantial” offer for Markkanen, which they put in on July 5. The details of that offer are not public, but league insiders suggest the Jazz are looking for picks above anything else.
“Golden State has an offer on the table and it’s substantial [for Lauri Markkanen],” Tony Jones of The Athletic reported on July 5, via 95.7 The Game. “I think offers are heavily pick-based. … What complicates it is the Warriors only have two unprotected picks, plus a protected first-rounder.”
Three first-rounders is nothing to sneeze at, but Utah could theoretically get considerably more. The Jazz traded Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves two summers past for five first-round picks along with a first-round pick swap and a cache of veteran players.
If Markkanen can command anything close to that, the Dubs may not have the asset stores it takes to secure him, let alone Markkanen and Kessler. Kessler earned legitimate star status by making the USA Men’s National Basketball Team in 2023 and competing with fellow ascending NBA players in the FIBA Men’s World Cup held across the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia last summer.
Trayce Jackson-Davis May Prove Intriguing Piece to Jazz in Potential Trade With Warriors
GettyTrayce Jackson-Davis #32 of the Golden State Warriors plays during an NBA game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The key will be how much the Jazz might value Kuminga, who put up a breakout third season last year as just a 21-year-old. Kuminga averaged 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 2023-24 while relying on an unearthly form of athleticism rivaled by few across a league stacked with tremendous athletes.
Utah is in the business of building from the ground up with young pieces as it positions itself for the future, but Kuminga is as young as many of the prospects the Jazz might draft over the next two years anyway. He’s a former top-10 pick himself (No. 7 overall in 2021) and will be a building block wherever he plays next season — Golden State, Utah, or elsewhere.
Jackson-Davis is also a potential building block after a quality rookie season, during which he eventually usurped Looney for the starting center role. He averaged 7.9 points and 5.0 rebounds in 16.6 minutes per game after the Warriors drafted him with the No. 57 overall in 2023.
Jackson-Davis isn’t necessarily a downgrade from Kessler, a former No. 22 overall pick in 2022 who was the de-facto fifth first-rounder the Timberwolves sent the Jazz in the Gobert trade that summer. However, he is younger and has been in the league for a shorter period of time, therefore isn’t as far along in his development.
That may be a plus for the Jazz, who will presumably try to be as bad in the win/loss column as possible next season while developing players who will eventually make the team competitive at the highest level. Jackson-Davis will also be cheaper for longer, as his rookie contract didn’t begin until a year after Kessler’s.
Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler Can Provide Warriors With Advantage Never Seen During Stephen Curry Era
Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz plays during an NBA game against the Atlanta Hawks.
Meanwhile, Markkanen is a former All-Star (2022-23) and has averaged north of 23 points and 8 rebounds in each of the past two seasons.
He is a win-now type of player entering the final season of a four-year, $67 million deal that is very affordable in 2024-25 at a little more than $18 million. However, Markkanen will hit free agency next summer if whichever team he plays for doesn’t extend him before then.
The 7-foot stretch big, who shoots 37.5% from the 3-point line for his career on 6.6 attempts per game, doesn’t make sense on Utah’s timeline as he approaches his prime. He does fit with the Warriors’ timeline perfectly, though, considering Stephen Curry will turn 37 years old late next season but is still a top-1o type of NBA talent and should be for the next couple of campaigns.
Adding Markkanen and Kessler will give Golden State the kind of size it never really had during its dynastic run to six Finals appearances and four championships over the past decade. They might also help the Warriors compete in a real way in a stacked Western Conference across the final chapters of Curry’s storied career, which is probably worth Kuminga and a handful of first-round draft picks over the next few years.
