In case you missed it: Lauri Markkanen is really good at basketball.
Against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday night, Markkanen might as well have worn a Finnish flag as a cape and called himself “Teräsmies,”
— Finnish for Superman.
After trailing at the start of the fourth quarter, Markkanen scored 12 points to push the game into overtime, and in that first overtime, he hit one of the most impressive shots you will ever see on a basketball court.
Driving left, fading away and falling down, he flicked the ball up from his waist for a midrange shot near the left baseline. Somehow, the ball evaded Nikola Vucevic and found its way into the net for two points.
He finished with 47 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks in the double overtime win. It wasn’t even his best performance on the young season.
This was his second straight 40-point outing, his third straight of at least 35, and his seventh 30-point performance in only 13 games. His 30.6 points per game is good for fifth best in the NBA, only behind Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Maxey.
And somehow, he is still on the Utah Jazz.
Why would Draymond Green veto a potential Lauri to GSW trade?
In October, ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported that future Hall of Famer Draymond Green told Warriors’ general manager Mike Dunleavey and team owner Joe Lacob, “not to green light a trade,” for the Finnish all star two summers ago.
“I’m a big fan of [Markkanen’s] game,” Green said. “But I think if you want to do something so huge you better be certain that this is the move. You usually don’t win those things against Danny Ainge. I look at history.”
Instead, the Warriors waited until last trade deadline to make a major trade, picking up Jimmy Butler in a five-team deal.
So far, Butler has been a solid fit with the organization. He plays hard, he’s efficient, he’s smart enough to play with Stephen Curry, but overall the Warriors are still not serious title contenders in the eyes of most NBA experts. It would be a shock if they made it past the second round of the playoffs.
Would trading for Markkanen have moved the needle at all? Imagine Markkanen paired along side Curry. All the spacing produced from a Curry-Markkanen duo would be like a rebranded version of the Splash Bros. Except instead of Klay Thompson, it would’ve been a 7-footer who can also dunk on the best defenders in the league.
The Warriors would have had to give up a lot, most notably Jonathan Kuminga and every pick under the sun. But still, it’s a fun thought exercise to think how things could have played out if Markkanen found himself playing in the bay.
Is Markkanen’s success bad for Utah’s future?
Markkanen is too good for the Jazz right now. If the NBA all stars were selected today, he would 100% be in. No doubt about it.
But he might be playing the Jazz outside of a pick. He’s is winning games for a team that, unfortunately, needs to lose.
Much of the Jazz’s future plans hinge on getting one of Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa or Cam Boozer in the 2026 draft. Let’s say Markkanen continues to play at this rate and the Jazz wind up with 25-30 wins, not only do you risk not getting one of the three coveted top prospects, you risk falling out of the top eight and giving a pick to OKC, who already has an embarrassment of riches.
The front office made a big deal about not deliberately tanking over the offseason, meaning that Markkanen will have less “injuries” causing him to miss games. I am curious to see if that will really be the case, because him playing might be hurting the Jazz’s future.
Regardless of how this season shakes out for the Jazz and Warriors, I think both teams could have benefited from making a deal two summers ago.
