One of the Golden State Warriors most prominent trade targets, Lauri Markkanen, has been back in trade speculation this week after Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated reported that the Utah Jazz are open for business on the 2023 All-Star.
Having tried desperately to trade for Markkanen early in the 2024 offseason, the Warriors have again naturally come up as part of the trade conversation. However, if Golden State want to consider a deal for the 28-year-old this time around, it's going to require an uncomfortable conversation surrounding franchise legend Draymond Green.
Warriors need to trade Draymond Green to acquire Lauri Markkanen
While the Warriors have quickly been listed as a potential suitor for Markkanen given the past history, that's also usually followed by a dampener on the likelihood given the Finnish forward is now making $46.4 million this season.
"Golden State doesn't really seem to have the contracts and the juice to get a deal done in the post Jimmy Butler era. But if they're going to go out and get Lauri Markkanen, I think that's the exact type of upgrade that the Warriors are going to be hopefully turning Jonathan Kuminga into," NBA insider Jake Fischer said on his Bleacher Report live steam earlier this week.
What Fischer and others fail to bring up is that the Warriors do have the means to match Markkanen's contract, so long as they're willing to deal Green in the process. Golden State could swap Jimmy Butler for Markkanen given their respectively deals, but they're not going to do that considering the 6x All-Star is still regarded as the better player.
Would they be willing to move Green (and Jonathan Kuminga) for Markkanen though? That's at least worth a conversation, yet not one that those around the league are bringing up as a possibility. Obviously it would depend on what else the Warriors would need to give up from an asset standpoint, but would they even view Markkanen as an upgrade based on their short-term ambitions?
For what it's worth, ESPN ranked Markkanen 43rd and Green 51st in their top 100 players list entering the season. They're very different players that's for sure -- Golden State's defense would undoubtedly take a hit, yet their offense could become nearly unstoppable with Markkanen, Butler and Stephen Curry, along with the likes of De'Anthony Melton, Moses Moody, Buddy Hield, Al Horford and Seth Curry providing spacing around them.
The reality is that the Warriors aren't landing Markkanen unless they're willing to move Green in what would probably work out as a multi-team trade, otherwise it's simply too difficult to match salaries as the former seventh overall pick starts a four-year, $195.9 million contract.