The Golden State Warriors already look like one of the league’s most obvious teams to watch when February’s trade deadline rolls around. They’ve got expiring contracts, they’ve got draft assets, and ESPN has them pegged as the team most likely to swing a major deal.
That’s why Lauri Markkanen keeps popping back into the conversation.
Golden State chased the Finnish forward hard two years ago, and now there’s fresh reason to think that pursuit could come back around. Markkanen was recently listed by Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz as one of the top five hidden trade candidates, a sign that Utah may eventually have to at least listen.
“A core of Peterson, Keyonte George, Ace Bailey and Jackson are all 26 or younger. Markkanen, meanwhile, will turn 30 next spring and doesn't fit the timeline of this group. He's also taking a starting spot away from Peterson or Bailey, the two players with the highest ceilings on this team,” Swartz wrote.
The Jazz’s roster setup gives that idea some real weight. After taking Darren Peterson second overall in June’s NBA Draft, Utah now has a crowded, talented rotation, and that likely means recent fifth overall pick Ace Bailey opens the season coming off the bench. That’s not exactly the cleanest path for a franchise that invested so heavily in Bailey.
And moving Jackson doesn’t look like the easy answer either. Utah gave up three first-round picks to the Memphis Grizzlies in a blockbuster trade before February’s deadline, so they’re not about to flip him right away.
That leaves Markkanen as the most plausible piece to move if the Jazz decide to reshape things. Trading him would open more room for Bailey in the starting frontcourt and could bring in more future assets, including the kind Golden State can put on the table.
The Warriors may also be better positioned now to make Utah say yes than they were the first time around. The Jazz have a clear opening at center after letting Walker Kessler go to the Los Angeles Lakers in a massive sign-and-trade at the start of free agency, and veteran big man Kristaps Porzingis could fill that gap. It would be a short-term fix, but if Porzingis is healthy early in the season, he could still offer more than Jusuf Nurkic.
From Golden State’s side, the money works too. The Warriors would likely need to include Draymond Green’s expiring contract, and paired with Porzingis’ flexible salary, that lines up with the $46.1 million Markannen will make this season. On top of that, Golden State would have to part with draft capital that now carries more value than it did two years ago, with Stephen Curry getting closer to retirement.
The Warriors have almost certainly kept tabs on Markkanen since their first push for him, and his name landing on Swartz’s trade list only adds another layer to the possibility. A revisit isn’t guaranteed, but the pieces are there for it to make sense again.
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