Jazz F Lauri Markkanen Pinned as Warriors' Top Offseason Trade Target

Do the Golden State Warriors have what it takes to make a blockbuster happen this summer?

The offseason rumblings and discussions for this summer are already firing up for the Utah Jazz.

After missing the postseason for the second straight season, many are forecasting what's next for the Jazz and their rebuild as they head into their third year post-Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. Utah does have some assets piled up that could help lift them closer to contention in a highly-contested Western Conference, but some around the league are looking at the team's current situation a bit differently.

Instead of approaching this offseason as buyers,  sees an opportunity for the Jazz to sell big, particularly their star forward Lauri Markkanen. He'll be entering into contract extension discussions this summer, and in the event talks go sideways, many teams would be lining up to covet his services.

In Dan Favale's recent article on B/R dishing one trade target for every team this summer, the Golden State Warriors were labeled as a perfect fit for Markkanen, who are in desperate need of fresh star talent:

"Any move they make must be seismic and clarifying. Lauri Markkanen qualifies. Getting him will be a chore. The Utah Jazz sound willing to pay him. But between the youngins and the (likely) ability to ship out two firsts and up to four swaps, the Warriors have a mishmash of viable starting points. Pairing Markkanen with Curry, Green, a re-signed Thompson and, let's say, Kuminga doesn't guarantee Golden State re-entry into the title discussion... But Markkanen can make the Warriors huge up front and just wrapped his second season in which he averaged north of 23 points per game while knocking down more than 55 percent of his twos and 39 percent of his threes."

While he didn't achieve All-Star honors this past season, Markkanen still dealt out some solid numbers during his second year in Salt Lake City. He averaged lines of 23.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. Of course, implementing a player of Lauri's caliber will provide a substantial boost to Golden State's title aspirations, but it's hard to picture Utah budging off the seven-footer.

The Jazz front office and staff have remained consistent in their sentiment to keep Lauri around as a franchise building block and will likely do just that so long as a new extension can be hammered out. Another haul of draft picks and young players from a team like Golden State could provide excitement going forward, but it would still set the timeline for this rebuild back by shipping off the best talent on the team.

Danny Ainge at the helm does make the Jazz's direction a bit difficult to project for the coming months, but keeping Markkanen in house seems like a given. Expect to see Utah look to build up their roster rather than tear it down going into 2024.

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