Warriors Trade Pitch Would Move Jonathan Kuminga for Perfect Co-Star

The Golden State Warriors will soon embark on one of their largest offseasons in team history, and they must decide whether to pair Stephen Curry with a co-star. Tim Kawakami of The Athletic pointed out that one of the players on the Warriors’ possible want list is Lauri Markkanen. The proposed deal would see the Warriors acquire Markkanen in exchange for Jonathan Kuminga and other assets.

Given that he would soon turn 27 years old, Kawakami claimed that he would be the ideal fit for Draymond Green and that he would suit the timeline for a youthful player.

“With a career 37.5 percent from deep, Markkanen’s skill set is almost ideal for Draymond as a big man, and he’s still young enough to help lead the Warriors into the next era as well.”May 21, Kawakami wrote. However, practically every club in the league would be contacting him if the Jazz made him available for trade. This doesn’t seem like a ready-made trade talk, unless Danny Ainge of Utah becomes enamored with the notion of obtaining the Warriors’ future draft picks.

Is Jonathan Kuminga a tradeable player for the Golden State Warriors?

The Utah Jazz would probably demand Kuminga in exchange for Markkanen, which is the one drawback to trading for him. Kuminga, 21, has a lot of potential to be a top player, even though Markkanen has shown to be the superior player thus far in his career.

The Warriors would only trade Kuminga in order to add a win-now player that complements Curry. The ideal outcome for any trade involving him would be to acquire a young player with All-Star caliber of play.

It’s exactly what Markkanen would give them.

But Kuminga’s 16.1 points and 4.8 rebounds were a significant improvement. Also, the citizen of the Republic of Congo possesses the skills necessary to be a top-tier defense.

How the Warriors Would Benefit from Lauri Markkanen

Acquiring Markkanen would mean bringing in a guy who has developed similarly to Kuminga. Over the previous two seasons, both players have begun to come into their own. Nonetheless, Markkanen has demonstrated over the last two seasons that he is the perfect star to pair with the majority of players in the league.

He is an agile defender who averaged 23.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Adding to his eight attempts per game at 39.9% three-point shooting, he would be a perfect match for the Golden State Warriors’ offensive scheme.

According to Josh Cornelissen of Blue Man Hoop, it’s difficult to imagine a player that would fit in more comfortably than Markkanen.

Cornelissen stated on April 13 that “it’s hard to think of a player that would fit better with the Golden State Warriors than Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen in terms of pure offensive basketball fit.” While the seven-footer is not a potential Hall of Famer, it is mind-boggling to think of the Splash Brothers with a Dirk-type player. The seven-footer was often compared to Dirk Nowitzki coming out of Arizona.

It’s unclear if the Utah Jazz would be interested. Due to Curry’s aging, the Warriors’ window is shrinking, so Danny Ainge might be interested in the team’s upcoming draft selections.

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