NBA trade rumors: Can the Warriors actually pry Lauri Markkanen away from the Jazz?

The Splash Brothers have split up, and the Golden State Warriors are trying to figure out what’s next. The first move, reportedly, was picking up guard De’Anthony Melton on a one-year, $12.8 million contract (i.e. the non-taxpayer mid-level exception). Since then, they have reportedly landed forward Kyle Anderson in a sign-and-trade, and they are close to adding sharpshooter Buddy Hield the same way.

They’re all nice complementary pieces, and Hield, 31, is the oldest of them. If you take the sentimental stuff out of the equation, swapping the 34-year-old Klay Thompson and 39-year-old Chris Paul for these three is an upgrade. The Warriors, however, would still like to acquire someone is more than a complementary piece.

How does Lauri Markkanen sound?

Golden State is “trying to be aggressive” on the trade market, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, and it is specifically targeting Markkanen, a 27-year-old forward who stands 7-feet tall, made the All-Star Game in 2023 and has averaged 24.5 points on 63.6% true shooting in two years with the Utah Jazz.

“Utah’s not sure it wants to trade him, but they have to listen,” Wojnarowski said on SportsCenter. “They’ve been listening. And a lot of the teams who lost out on Mikal Bridges from Brooklyn have transferred over to trying to see if they can land Lauri Markkanen out of Utah. Golden State is one of those teams.”

The Warriors “are the aggressor in this Lauri Markkanen sweepstakes,” Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes said. “They are trying to do whatever they can to get into the fold, but it’s going to be a costly price to get Lauri. The Utah Jazz, they don’t necessarily want to trade Lauri, but they will for the right price tag.”

Haynes said that the San Antonio Spurs have been involved, too, but emphasized that Golden State’s pursuit has been more serious than anybody else’s. According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, the Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Pelicans have also expressed interest in Markkanen, but Utah is believed to be asking for “a trade package similar to what the Knicks gave up to acquire Mikal Bridges.” You might remember that Bridges cost New York five first-round picks (four of which are unprotected), an unprotected pick swap and a second-rounder. (The Athletic’s Kelly Iko reported that the Houston Rockets are not going after Markkanen because they think the price is “exorbitant.”)

Like Bridges, Markkanen can has shown that he can put up points but has the kind of game that complements high-usage playmakers. He made 41.4% of his catch-and-shot 3s last season, and Jazz coach Will Hardy moved him all over the court and put him in lots of different actions. The Warriors — and coach Steve Kerr specifically — would surely love to have a weapon like him at their disposal.

Also like Bridges, Markkanen is signed to a below-market contract. He’ll make $18 million this coming season, the last year of a four-year deal that he signed (as part of a sign-and-trade that sent him to the Cleveland Cavaliers) after a season in which the Chicago Bulls demoted and deemphasized him. For a team like Golden State that is hard-capped at the first apron, this represents a rare opportunity, provided that Utah will actually part with him: Markkanen’s current salary is low enough to make acquiring him feasible, and it can realistically retain him with Bird Rights a year from now.

The Jazz, naturally, could just keep Markkanen and re-sign him themselves. They could even potentially lock him up on a long-term deal this summer — as of Aug. 6, they will be able to use their cap space to bump his 2023-24 salary up to as much as $42.3 million and extend his contract off of that number (for up to four years and $202 million). On his next deal, though, Markkanen won’t have as much trade value as he does today, particularly if they can create a bidding war. Utah is worlds away from win-now mode, so, even though Markkanen is just approaching his prime, he could be worth more as somebody else’s missing piece than the Jazz’s centerpiece. 

If a bidding war is brewing, it’s not clear whether or not the Warriors can win it. In theory, though, they could get themselves in the mix. Andrew Wiggins has reportedly been on the block for some time, and if they’re willing to part with all (or most) of the future picks and swaps that they can put on the table, plus one or two of the interesting young players that they’d probably prefer to keep, maybe it’ll be enough for Utah. I don’t know if Golden State can actually pull this off, but Markkanen is exactly the type of player the team should be looking for.