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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
adamtaylornba

7-foot All-Star floated as ideal trade target for Warriors

The Golden State Warriors are expected to make significant changes during the offseason.

Steve Kerr’s team struggled throughout the season; multiple members of the rotation underperformed. The team’s championship core is aging. The younger contingent of talent is knocking on the door for bigger opportunities. And the roster is incredibly expensive.

As such, the Warriors could look very different when they take the court to begin their 2024-25 season. According to Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale, the front office should look at adding Lauri Markkanen as part of the rebuilding efforts to maximize the final years of Steph Curry’s career.

“Pairing Markkanen with Curry, Green, a re-signed Thompson and, let’s say, Kuminga doesn’t guarantee Golden State reentry into the title discussion,” Favale wrote. “They probably need a higher-level self-creator who’s taller than miniature. 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.”

The Warriors lacked legitimate size in the frontcourt this season. They often found themselves playing a small-ball lineup, with their tallest players measuring in at 6-foot-10. Markkanen would fit Golden State’s mold of having size and skill. He shot 39.9% from 3-point range this season, so his presence wouldn’t affect the spacing Kerr likes his team to deploy.
Markkanen has emerged as the Utah Jazz’s star player. He wouldn’t be easy to obtain in a trade. It would almost certainly cost Golden State some of their younger talents. However, his size, skill and age (26) would provide the Warriors with a genuine bridge between the veteran talents and the young core. He would be an ideal addition.
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