The Golden State Warriors were eyeing Lauri Markkanen this summer but decided not to make a trade.
Markkanen’s Impressive Performance
Lauri Markkanen, who plays for the Utah Jazz, has been doing really well over the past two seasons. The Warriors had a chance to get him, but they didn’t agree with the price. Instead, Markkanen stayed with the Jazz by signing a huge five-year deal worth $238 million source. His preseason stats have been great too, making some Warriors fans wonder if their team made a mistake.
In three preseason games, Markkanen scored an average of 18.7 points while shooting 46% overall and 42% from three-point land. Last season, he was named the NBAโs Most Improved Player after averaging 23.2 points per game and hitting 48% of his shots (40% from beyond the arc). He also joined an elite group of seven-footers by making over 1,000 career three-pointers source.
finnishing the night with 26 points & 7 rebounds
โ Utah Jazz (@utahjazz)
The Warriors’ Decision
Warriors fans were thrilled at the thought of pairing another star with Stephen Curry. However, according to [The Athletic](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5705669/2024/08/28/brandin-podziemski-warriors-lauri-markkanen/) they refused to trade their first-round pick Brandin Podziemski for him.
Joe Lacob, owner of the Warriors, believes Podziemski is โuntouchableโ and sees him as a โfuture All-Starโ [source](https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/brandin_podziemski_ready_to_repay_warriors_for_not_trading_him/s1_13132_40812398). So instead of getting an established player like Markkanen for their frontcourt, they chose to keep Podziemski as a backup point guard.
Podziemski hasn’t had a great start in preseason games; he’s shooting just 38% and has more than three turnovers per game. But he’s doing well from three-point range at 42%, and so far, the team hasnโt lost any games.
Fans sometimes feel like teams should take risks when it could mean winning now instead of waiting for potential future success.
Last season at Santa Clara University, Podziemski had one of the best plus/minus ratings on his team and improved Golden Stateโs offensive performance when he played [source](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5644201/2024/07/18/brandin-podziemski-warriors-jazz-lauri-markkanen-trade/#).
Curry’s Championship Window
Some worry that by not trading for Markkanen now might waste Stephen Curry’s remaining years as an elite player since he’s already 36 years old! With many skilled big men dominating today’s NBA scene โ someone like Markannen would be perfect alongside Curry chasing championships again!
Instead though management focused on signing role players rather than giving up future talent which makes sense logically…but emotionally?
Even though they’re undefeated during these practice matches right now things could change once playoffs roll around next year!
