NBA trade rumors: Warriors and Spurs attempting trade for Lauri Markkanen

Several teams are reportedly trying to acquire Lauri Markkanen in a trade with the Utah Jazz. The first interesting piece of news comes from Jake Fisher, who named the Golden State Warriors as a team looking to acquire Lauri Markkanen.

From Fisher's article:

But the biggest domino effect from Thompson's outcome is likely to be the future of All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen. Golden State has tried to maximize its options by pursuing the biggest catches available this summer. First, the Warriors pushed back Chris Paul's guarantee date and tried to find a trade for his expiring $30 million salary. Sources said the Warriors tried to negotiate a trade for Paul George with the Clippers before the All-Star wing tried free agency and eventually joined Philadelphia. Golden State is now one of the few teams most interested in acquiring Markkanen from Utah, according to league sources.

The Jazz would certainly welcome a call for Markkanen, a league source told Yahoo Sports. Perhaps Utah will end up forcing a similar offseason to Brooklyn, where the Nets once envisioned adding star talent with Mikal Bridges but decided a big acquisition from New York would be the best way to start rebuilding. As previously reported by Yahoo Sports, the Jazz had been exploring a trade for Bridges and had been in talks with Atlanta about both Dejounte Murray and Trae Young to assemble a group around Markkanen that could catch George's eye, sources said.

The latest round of Markkanen trade talks could just be the Jazz trying to gather input from interested teams or trying to extract an outrageous offer from the Knicks, such as five first-round draft picks plus additional unprotected picks in exchange for Bridges. The Jazz have previously told various NBA sources that they are willing to renegotiate and extend Markkanen's contract if both sides meet the terms of the deal in August, and that listening to offers for Markkanen is just part of doing good business, the sources said.

There's a lot to figure out there. First, it's clear that the Warriors are interested in Markkanen. The question is how much the offer would be and if the Jazz will accept it. Fisher said the Jazz have told teams they are still willing to renegotiate with Markkanen but would welcome a call. This type of ambiguous messaging is what's making this offseason strange for Utah. Sure, we're interested in a trade, but we also want to re-sign Markkanen. We'll see what happens in the near future. Will there be a tweet saying they'll keep Markkanen if the Jazz don't get the offer they want? Or will there be a bombshell statement that the Warriors will move Markkanen?

Another notable team interested in Markkanen is the San Antonio Spurs. You can hear Zach Lowe and Bobby Marks discuss the move on the Lowe Post Podcast. The Markkanen talk starts at the 50:30 mark.

Here are some interesting quotes from the podcast:

I've heard another name they're considering is Markkanen out of Utah… that name will also be worth keeping an eye on.

Obviously, the Bridges trade was a signal for them to call us.

I don’t really have the same vibes for Lauri (as I did for Mikal Bridges), but I’m definitely keeping an eye on him.

The team I want to watch is the Spurs.

The Spurs make a bit more sense as they have more assets to make such a move. Markkanen is extremely valuable as he is on a very tradeable contract at around $17 million. He is also a pure off-ball player so he could space the floor next to Victor Wembanyama. As for Utah, we know they were high on Stephon Castle in the draft. Would he be part of a trade that would also include a pick? Castle would be perfect as he could thrive next to the Jazz's young core.

Whatever is going on, it's clear the Jazz are busy and in talks with multiple teams. We'll have to wait and see if a trade gets done or if it becomes a hot mess.