After losing to the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Title, the Golden State Warriors have been very keen on improving their squad and the latest on the list is forward Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz. The two teams have however been pursuing him intensively in the last few weeks according to recent reports, but the two teams were not anywhere near concluding any deal.
There was a major obstacle in the negotiation process which was the extremely defensive position by the Warriors regarding the second year player, Brandin Podziemski. An NBA insider once said that Podziemski was the player that the Jazz was most fascinated with from Golden State. The Warriors though felt it was too early to include him in trade talks, this was an indication that the organization saw him as a special prospect.
However, apart from their unwillingness to trade Podziemski, Golden State was also not willing to give in to Utah’s steep requirements for draft picks. Chicago’s Jazz front office set a high price for Markkanen, they asked for sizable draft picks in return. Thus, due to the positions of both clubs and the desire of the Warriors to keep the maximum of their possibilities free for further transformations and the acquisition of new talents, the denial of these claims and the subsequent freezing of the trade negotiations.
Markkanen’s Appeal
It has been an endorsement for Markkanen, a skillful forward for the jazz known for his special performance. Eddie’s scoring capability is an added advantage because he is big, and he is skillful. In acquiring a player of Markkanen’s quality, the Warriors could have gotten a major lift in their bid to get back to the championship series. However the price factor could not be sustained.
These shows the flexibility of the warriors management to engage primarily in win now moves while also thinking of the future at the same time. While bringing talents like Podziemski into its roster and keeping up with their draft choices, Golden State brings more stability into the team.
The teams could potentially come back to the drawing board and potentially or engage in further discussions and/or identify different trade possibilities as the current NBA trade environment continues to change. For the time being, Lauri Markkanen stays with the Jazz, and the Warriors go on scouting for chances to improve the team without mortgaging the future.
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