Grade the Trade: Rival helps Warriors fulfill Markkanen dream in 3-team proposed deal

Would the Golden State Warriors make this trade?

Kuminga, Moody, Looney, Santos, a first-round pick, a first-round pick swap and a second-round pick for Markkanen? That's quite the haul but also one the Warriors may need to give up to get Danny Ainge to budge on moving his best player.

It's also a similar package to one proposed by Brett Siegel of Clutch Points on Thursday in which Golden State give up Kuminga, Moody, Looney and three first-round picks for Markkanen and Walker Kessler.

In this three-team trade, the Warriors would open up a valuable $8 million trade exception which they could utilize to go and fill out the remainder of the roster -- they'd have four open spots following this deal.

A starting lineup of Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Andrew Wiggins, Lauri Markkanen and Draymond Green would give Golden State a real shot of being a top five team in the West next season, while they'd still have solid depth options in the form of De'Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield, Gary Payton II, Kyle Anderson and Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Yet as outlined here in response to Seigel's proposal, giving up Kuminga for Markkanen brings significiant risk. The young forward's talent suggests he could become the better player in time, or at least in the same realm as Markkanen. Perhaps it's more likely that Kuminga never reaches that level, yet his rise over the second-half of last season indicates that it's a possibility.

Summary:

If the Warriors keep Kuminga and land Markkanen, then they would need to commit to big extensions for both which would essentially mean the end for Andrew Wiggins at the franchise. Given the potential difficulty of getting off the Canadian's contract, and the valuable role he still plays for the franchise as their starting small forward, perhaps it's easier to move on from Kuminga and hope he doesn't flourish into the sort of player that could turn this trade into a disaster.

Grade (for Warriors): B