Given they now have a proven second star in Jimmy Butler, the Golden State Warriors find themselves in a different spot than last offseason where they were searching for a No. 2 to support Stephen Curry.
Yet one element remains the same for the Warriors -- they still need to add size and shooting across the roster. That's what made Lauri Markkanen such an attractive option 12 months ago, and why the Finnish forward could still be an option for Golden State heading into this offseason.
The Warriors would need to make a gut-wrenching decision to trade for Lauri Markkanen
The circumstances surrounding Markkanen this offseason are much different than they were a year ago. At that time he was set to make $18 million which made the salary-matching easy, but also made him incredibly valuable from a trade standpoint.
Now, Markkanen is about to start a four-year, $195.9 million contract which makes him less valuable in a trade, but also far more difficult to trade for given the exorbitant salary. Danny Ainge and the Utah Jazz were rightly asking for the world last offseason, but they've now lost some leverage given the contract, Markkanen's diminished form this season, and the fact the franchise fell to the fifth pick in the draft despite initially holding the equal-best odds.
After averaging 25.6 points in his career-best year as an All-Star in 2022-23, Markkanen dropped to 23.2 last season and now 19.0 points this season. His rebounds have also fallen from over eight to 5.9 per game this season, while his efficiency from the floor and 3-point range have also declined significantly.
He'd still be an excellent fit for the Warriors and signifies exactly what they need in terms of size and shooting, but it would also likely take a gut-wrenching Draymond Green decision in order to make it happen.
Given the impact Jimmy Butler had on Golden State following his arrival in February, the front office isn't going to turn around and move him for Markkanen who's a similar or even slightly worse player. They could try and execute a Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade, but that becomes very difficult given other salaries would need to be involved and the complications of the first tax apron.
The only reasonable path is if the Warriors made the decision to move on from Green, allowing Golden State to get younger and more offensively-minded at the power-forward position. Having Markkanen as a high-level shooter at the four would allow for move versatility at the five spot, with the potential of having a non-shooting center which really isn't viable at present with Green.
The Warriors could reach Markkanen's salary with a combination of Green, Moses Moody and Buddy Hield, while also adding future picks and/or pick swaps the Jazz coveted last offseason. The immediate question is why would Utah have interest in Green, but perhaps a third team could get involved to make it work.
It's highly unlikely a trade like this comes to fruition, yet it's one the Warriors should probably consider to open up their offense and help alleviate their size and shooting concerns going into next season.