Ranking 3 Proposed Lauri Markkanen Trades for the Golden State Warriors

1. Warriors send out 2022 All-Star

What if the Warriors could keep both Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski out of the deal? That appears the dream scenario for the franchise, so long as they obviously keep Stephen Curry and Draymond Green as well.

That's what pans out here, with Siegel proposing a trade centered around 2022 All-Star Andrew Wiggins, Moses Moody and a similar pick package:

There's a few things to consider. The first is that if Golden State can get their hands on Markkanen while keeping Kuminga, Wiggins' role on the team could quickly become very questionable. The Canadian remains the team's starting small forward for now, but adding Markkanen's shooting threat would make playing Kuminga at that position far more viable.

Then you have the financial aspect of it -- if the Warriors can have both Kuminga and Markkanen on the same roster, they should move quickly to extend both players to long-term deals in the hope that duo will protect the future picks given up in the trade.

That pair would almost assuredly be on $30+ million deals per season, which alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green's contracts would all of a sudden make things sticky again. That means Golden State couldn't really have Wiggins beyond next season, and trading him in a seperate deal could be difficult without including other assets (of which the franchise would have just given up plenty for Markkanen).

The exits of Wiggins and Moody would bring a complete lack of small forward options on the Warrior roster, yet that's the beauty of Markkanen's flexibility which could allow Steve Kerr to play big lineups he otherwise can't at this stage.

Golden State would miss Wiggins' perimeter defense, but that could be covered by De'Anthony Melton while Gary Payton II would also remain on the roster. Jordan Clarkson would be a nice addition, though perhaps not necessarily required given the recent acquisition of Buddy Hield -- maybe they could push for Collin Sexton instead as a genuine point guard behind Curry?

This would certainly be the ideal Markkanen trade from a Warrior perspective, yet it's difficult to envisage the Jazz accepting in the knowledge they'll have to pay Wiggins nearly $85 million over the course of the next three years, while Moody too will enter next season on the final year of his rookie deal.