Warriors wanting to "protect" young guard casts serious doubt over Markkanen trade

The Lauri Markkanen saga continues to boil with further reports emerging in recent days of negotations between the Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz.

The Athletic's Shams Charania reported on Monday that the Warriors had offered Moses Moody and a haul of draft picks in exchange for Markkanen, but that Danny Ainge and the Jazz had additionally asked for both of the franchise's prized young assets in Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski.

The Golden State Warriors are unlikely to complete a trade for Lauri Markkanen if they're not willing to give up Brandin Podziemski

Charania took to SiriusXM NBA radio later on Monday and reported that the Jazz are more focused on Podziemski rather than Kuminga. While many would view the latter as having greater upside with both at 21-years-old, Podziemski's three years remaining on his rookie contract is a major factor in the valuation of both.

The two sides may appear far apart on a potential Markkanen deal, but Charania's reports suggest there is a fair middle ground to be found where Golden State give up Podziemski and some combination (but not all) of their future draft capital.

Yet that's far easier said than done, with The Athletic's Anthony Slater reiterating that Podziemski "is beloved organizationally" in a segment on 95.7 The Game's Willard and Dibs on Wednesday.

"Now, again, if it comes down to a major trade, and he is the swing piece, sometimes you do have to give stuff up. We'll see. But yeah, they're not actively looking to move him...He's just entering year two of a four-year rookie deal and he was the 19th overall pick. That's really cheap labor in a lot of ways. But that's also why the Warriors want to protect him."

- Anthony Slater

While part of this is media posturing where Golden State want it to be known how much they value their young player, it's also very much true after a rookie season where Podziemski led the team in plus-minus, was blatantly one of the team's best players, and earned All-Rookie First Team honors.

However, it's almost impossible to see the Warriors landing Markkanen while retaining both Podziemski and Kuminga, leaving a major dilemma for the franchise as they seek to balance both their short and long-term aims.

Podziemski was a recently part of the USA Select Team in Las Vegas, while he's just concluded a three-game Summer League stint for the Warriors where he averaged 17.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.