Lauri Markkanen is still with the Utah Jazz at the time of this writing, but there appears to be continued interest in him from the Golden State Warriors, who are looking to win another Larry O'Brien Trophy in the Stephen Curry era. While Curry is away for his Team USA duties, the Warriors' front office is seemingly busy prospecting for a big-time addition to the squad, with Markkanen being at the center of that endeavor.
Why Markkanen has yet to switch teams from Utah to Golden State appears to come down to what the Jazz truly wants to do with the Finnish stretch-big, per NBA insider Marc Stein.
“It remains difficult to get a clear read on Utah's ultimate intentions with Markkanen — namely to what degree the Jazz are indeed open to trading him before Aug. 6 or if they really prefer, as many teams suspect, to sign him to a long-term contract before actually accepting a down-the-road trade offer for him — but the Warriors' situation is easier to analyze.”
Are the Warriors willing to give up one of Jonathan Kuminga or Brandin Podziemski?
There is also the matter of which package the Warriors are more comfortable with parting in exchange for the former Arizona Wildcats star. And despite all the noise involving the names of Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski emanating from the Markkanen to Warriors trade rumors, Stein noted that neither Golden State asset has been part of a package the San Francisco-based squad has put on the table for Utah to consider.
“Yet there is also a growing belief leaguewide that the Warriors would be more willing to move Jonathan Kuminga in a Markkanen trade — or any big-swing deal — than Podziemski. To this point, however, it must be noted that Golden State's offers for Markkanen have centered around a package featuring Moses Moody and draft compensation without including Podziemski or Kuminga.”
Speaking of the two young Warriors players, Shams Charania of The Athletic recently shared that Podziemski has the Jazz's attention more.
Podziemski,25, is a young asset who is under team control up to the end of the 2026-27 NBA season, including the two club options for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 campaigns which are worth $3.687 million each. The former Santa Clara Broncos star shooting guard shone in his first season in the pros, having averaged 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists for the Warriors. He also finished fifth in the 2024 Rookie of the Year race.
Kuminga, 21, on the other hand, had his team option worth $7.63 million in the 2024-25 season picked up by the Warriors and will be a restricted free agent by the end of the coming season.
Markkanen has a year left on his current deal which will pocket him just $18.044 million in the 2024-25 NBA season. A huge extension is on the horizon for the seven-footer, who just turned 27 years old last May. The only question is which team will pay him that extension, as rumors about his trade destination continue to swirl in the NBA offseason.
So far in his NBA career, Markkanen, selected seventh overall in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, is averaging 18.1 points per game with a 37.5 percent shooting from deep.
In the 2023-24 NBA season, Markkanen put up averages of 23.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists through 55 games for the Jazz while making 48 percent of his attempts from the field and posting a 57.8 effective field goal percentage and 63.1 true shooting percentage.
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