While Dub Nation anxiously waits for developments in the Lauri Markkanen bidding war, general manager Mike Dunleavy and the Warriors front office appear to have put all their efforts into acquiring the star forward.
Golden State has made a big offer to the Utah Jazz for the NBA All-Star big man, The Athletic's Tony Jones confirmed in an interview on 95.7 The Game on Friday.
“Golden State has made an offer and we feel it's a substantial offer,” Jones said.[for Lauri Markkanen]Only the jazz people themselves can answer that question: what are they looking for?
Jones further explained that while the current offer is based heavily on draft picks, Utah could be looking for additional assets in the form of promising young players who can develop as the Jazz move forward.
“I think the level of offers that are on the market is substantial,” Jones said. “I think they're primarily based on picks. When you look at some of the offers, I think there's one or two young players that have the potential to develop over the course of their careers.”
While Golden State's offer is reportedly strong, the Warriors' available draft capital could complicate their path to acquiring Markkanen.
“What complicates the Golden State package is [the Warriors] They only have two first-round picks that are essentially unprotected. [2026 and 2028]”Just look at Mikal Bridges selling for $5 a few weeks ago. [first-round picks]”And it wasn't just five first-class players. It was five first-class players plus the swap and then Bojan Bogdanovic. I think you have to take all of that into consideration when you think about what Lauri Markkanen could potentially get.”
Markkanen appears to be a coveted big acquisition for Golden State, but neither the Warriors nor the Jazz are desperate to get a deal done anytime soon, and there could be a lot of back and forth between the two front offices, with lengthy negotiations sure to take place before a trade for the star forward can materialize.
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