The Golden State Warriors are now stuck in no man's land following the devastating ACL injury Jimmy Butler suffered on Monday.
They were in the midst of an important homestand, and they were presumed to be among the league's most active buyers at the trade deadline. It's reasonable to assume they would have spared no expense to furnish Butler and Stephen Curry with a solid third option over the next couple of weeks.
Now, however, their path forward is unclear. Without Butler available, the team has no second offensive option. They will be back to depending solely on Curry's excellence night-in and night-out. As we have seen in the past, this is not a winning formula.
Tim Kawakami of the SF Standard, however, has suggested a major move to maximize the remainder of this season. Deal for Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz.
Could Lauri Markkanen be back on the table for the Warriors?
Although the Jazz have largely seemed reluctant to even discuss Markkanen as a trade option this season, Kawakami makes an excellent point:
"Does Markkanen, who’s having a very solid season after a struggle in 2024-25, really want to stick around during Utah’s endless tank? Wouldn’t the Jazz think about cashing out on his value, finally?"Tim Kawakami
Markkanen is averaging 27.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while knocking down 36.5% of his attempts from beyond the arc. It's not a stretch to say that his talents are being wasted with his current team.
While Utah has improved and has an outside chance to sneak into the play-in, they have no incentive to do so. They owe their first-round pick this season to the Oklahoma City Thunder if it falls outside of the top eight in the draft.
As a result, Markkanen has been rested more this season than his injuries and soreness would usually necessitate.
This would not be the first time Golden State has pursued Markkanen. During the 2024 offseason, rumors proliferated connecting him to The Bay Area. The Warriors have long been on the hunt for a stretch big, and Markkanen would be their ideal solution.
As Kawakami mentions, it would likely take all three of Golden State's tradeable future first-round picks to even bring the Jazz to the table.
With the end of Curry's career rapidly approaching, however, the Warriors must cease to be endlessly protective over this draft capital.
Kawakami is right. Golden State has a duty to maximize what is left of Curry's career, and at least poking into Markkanen's availability is their due diligence.