NBA Trade Rumors: The Golden State Warriors remain unwilling to go all-in for Lauri Markkanen.
Over the last few weeks, recent reporting has indicated that the Golden State Warriors have been the one team in the league most motivated to get a trade done for Lauri Markkanen. However, at least up until now, the Warriors haven't been willing to put every trade asset on the table.
That's one of the bigger reasons why Markkanen is still on the Jazz. The question is, will that change at any point in the near future?
At least according to a recent report, the Warriors are still holding strong on their decision to keep Brandin Podziemski out of any potential offer for Markkanen. I'm not sure if adding Podziemski to an offer gets this deal done, but it's certainly become one of the bigger talking points between the Jazz and Warriors.
With the clock ticking on whether the Jazz will trade Markkanen or sign him to an extension, this likely indicates that Utah is probably not going to make the move.
The Utah Jazz doesn't seem ready to trade Lauri Markkanen
Knowing the way Danny Ainge and Utah's front office work, they're not going to make a trade just for the sake of it. Especially considering how much they value Markkanen as a player, it doesn't make a ton of sense for Utah to force something that isn't there. At worst, the Jazz could re-sign Markkanen and then elect to trade him at a later date if they wanted to.
If the Jazz isn't getting the trade package they want, it only makes sense for them to hold off on trading Markkanen. That probably isn't what the Warriors' front office and its fan base want to hear, but that's likely how this all ends up playing out over the next few days or weeks.
The interesting part of all this revolves around what the Warriors do next. How will Golden State respond if the Jazz end up keeping Markkanen on their roster? How will they pivot? Will they seemingly keep their roster as-is even though they know it isn't good enough to compete for a championship this season? Will they hold out hope for a trade to materialize for a star player down the road?
There is a lot on the line for both the Warriors and Jazz but at this point, Golden State has to be considered the more desperate team. At least for now, they continue to portray that they aren't. That could end up being a big mistake.