The Golden State Warriors strongly pursued a Lauri Markkanen trade early in the 2024 offseason, but were ultimately unwilling to include Brandin Podziemski and appease the Utah Jazz who eventually extended the Finnish forward.
Fast-forward 30 months and the Warriors' stance of not wanting to overpay for Markkanen is being vindicated, and even so after the veteran forward has picked up another injury that will see him sidelined for at least a month as the Jazz fall into further disarray.
Warriors are being vindicated for Lauri Markkanen trade stance
As reported by ESPN's Shams Charania on Wednesday, Markkanen suffered a non-displaced fracture in his hand which will see him join frontcourt teammates Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic on the sidelines.
This latest injury comes after Markkanen has played just 55, 47 and 42 games over the past three years following his All-Star and Most Improved player season in 2022-23. His box score numbers have remained reasonably consistent over this period, but his shooting percentages have taken a minor dip.
The 29-year-old also still hasn't appeared in a single playoff game during his now 10-year career. That appears unlikely to change this season as Utah have opened 1-10 and sit bottom of the Western Conference, unless of course Markkanen is traded before February's mid-season deadline.
That is a possibility but his value has plummetted since the Jazz had an opportunity to sell high during the 2024 offseason. Golden State were the primary suitor for the former seventh overall pick, but likely would have needed to include Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga and future draft capital -- including potentially this year's pick which has now turned into Yaxel Lendeborg.
Brandin Podziemski may now be more valuable than Lauri Markkanen
The Warriors have been criticized by many within the fanbase for not including Podziemski in a Markkanen trade just over two years ago. However, that now looks like the correct decision, and you could argue the fourth-year guard is more valuable than Markkanen in his own right without thinking about what else Golden State would have needed to include in a trade.
No one is necessarily arguing that Podziemski is a better player, but he's six years younger, is making around $40 million less this season, and will still make less than half Markkanen's annual salary once his five-year, $110 million extension kicks in next year. They're very valid reasons to argue Podziemski is a more valuable player.
Then there's Lendeborg who the Warriors may have given up access to drafting depending on what picks they relinquised in a Markkanen trade. The 11th overall pick is easily more valuable than Markkanen, and will likely become a better player if he isn't already.
Add us as a preferred source on Google