As of the time of this writing, Lauri Markkanen remains with the Utah Jazz. However, the Golden State Warriors are still expressing interest in him, as they are in pursuit of another Larry O’Brien Trophy in the Stephen Curry era. While Curry is abroad for his Team USA obligations, the Warriors’ front office appears to be actively seeking a significant addition to the team. Markkanen is the focal point of this endeavor.

Marc Stein, an NBA insider, suggests that the reason Markkanen has not yet transferred from Utah to Golden State is due to the Jazz’s genuine intentions regarding the Finnish stretch-big.

“It is still challenging to ascertain Utah’s ultimate intentions regarding Markkanen, specifically the extent to which the Jazz are willing to trade him prior to August 6 or whether they would prefer to sign him to a long-term contract before accepting a potential trade offer in the future, as many teams suspect.” However, the Warriors’ situation is simpler to evaluate.Additionally, the Warriors must determine which package they are more inclined to exchange for the former Arizona Wildcats player. Stein observed that the San Francisco-based team has not submitted a proposal for Utah to consider that includes the names of Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski, despite the commotion surrounding the Markkanen to Warriors trade rumors.

However, there is also a burgeoning consensus within the league that the Warriors would be more inclined to trade Jonathan Kuminga in a Markkanen trade, or any other significant trade, than they would be to do the same with Podziemski. It is important to acknowledge, however, that Golden State’s offers for Markkanen have been concentrated around a package that includes draft compensation and Moses Moody, but does not include Podziemski or Kuminga.

Speaking of the two youthful Warriors players, Shams Charania of The Athletic recently disclosed that the Jazz are more interested in Podziemski.

Podziemski, 25, is a youthful asset who is under team control until the conclusion of the 2026-27 NBA season. This includes the two club options for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 campaigns, each of which is valued at $3.687 million. The Warriors’ shooting guard, who was previously the star of the Santa Clara Broncos, was exceptional in his inaugural season in the professional league, averaging 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. Additionally, he secured the fifth position in the 2024 Rookie of the Year competition.

Conversely, Kuminga, 21, will be a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the upcoming season after the Warriors exercised his team option for $7.63 million during the 2024-25 season.

Markkanen’s 2024-25 NBA season salary will be $18.044 million, as he has one year remaining on his current contract. The seven-footer, who celebrated his 27th birthday last May, is poised to receive a substantial extension. The sole inquiry is which team will provide him with the extension, as speculation regarding his trade destination persists throughout the NBA offseason.

Markkanen, who was selected seventh overall in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, has averaged 18.1 points per game and has a 37.5 percent shooting percentage from beyond the arc in his NBA career thus far.

Markkanen had an average of 23.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 55 games for the Jazz during the 2023-24 NBA season. He also achieved a 57.8 effective field goal percentage and a 63.1 true shooting percentage, while completing 48 percent of his field goal attempts.