The Warriors are rumored to be among the teams with the most interest in trading for Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, but team owner Joe Lacob tells Tim Kawakami of The Athletic that it would be difficult to part with either Jonathan Kuminga or Brandin Podziemski in any deal. Lacob says teams have inquired about both players, but he sees them as future franchise cornerstones.
“We’re extremely high (on Podziemski),” Lacob said. “By the way, so are a lot of other teams that are interested. We get a lot of calls on both him and JK. We do on Moses (Moody), as well, by the way. … I do believe that if you talk about Podz in particular, I said it at the Summer League, I think he has the potential to be an All-Star in this league. And I absolutely believe it. And so does everyone in our organization. I think that JK is in the same boat. He has the potential to be an All-Star in this league. The potential.”
Podziemski showed he was ready for a rotation role in his first season, averaging 9.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 74 games and finishing fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting. Kuminga, who is extension-eligible this summer, has taken longer to develop his game, but he’s coming off a breakthrough season with career highs in virtually every category.
A recent report stated that Golden State hasn’t included Podziemski or Kuminga in its offer for Markannen, instead centering the package around Moody, other contracts and draft assets. That hasn’t been enough to sway Utah, which may not feel a need to move Markkanen before he becomes eligible to renegotiate and extend his contract on Aug. 6.
“I’m not going to get into specifics like that, there’s no way,” Lacob replied when asked if he would be willing to deal Podziemski. “(But) I don’t want to give him up, or JK. We love these guys. And Moses, Trayce (Jackson-Davis). These are good young players.”
Lacob offers more insights in the wide-ranging interview:
On a possible deal with Stephen Curry, who is eligible for a one-year, $62.6MM extension this summer that would push his contract through the 2026/27 season:
“We have not discussed it. He’s busy right now and he should stay busy and focused on that with the Olympics. But if he wants to talk about that, that’s up to him. He’s not said that at all, but if he wants to, we’ll certainly entertain that discussion. … Let’s put it this way, Steph Curry I fully anticipate he’ll be a Warrior for life. I thought Klay (Thompson) was going to be, too, but I was wrong.”
On Curry’s recent comments that he wouldn’t want to stay with the Warriors if they were to become a “bottom feeder”:
“From what I’ve heard, all he said was what you’d expect, I’d think, which is, ‘I want to win.’ And if we were a really bad team, I guess he would rethink, you know, whether he really wanted to finish his career here. But he didn’t expect — that’s not the case and he didn’t expect that to be the case. And certainly from any conversations I’ve had with Steph, and I’m pretty close to Steph, we talk a lot. I think we have a great relationship. I think he’s very comfortable with the path of the franchise and how hard we do try to put a great, as good a product on the court as we can.”
On the loss of Thompson, who had been an important part of the franchise since being drafted in 2011:
“To be frank and honest, Klay made the decision prior to the beginning of free agency and he informed us of it that his intention was to not come back. … He called me and said the same things you heard (at Klay’s Dallas news conference). Klay is an open book. He felt he needed for a variety of reasons to have a fresh start. I would love if Klay had been a Warrior for life. And under a fair and equitable basis, we wanted to try to achieve that very badly. We did achieve it with Draymond (Green) (last summer), a different situation. Steph’s under the contract. So we felt we on a path to do that. It just didn’t work out. … And we had to move on and accept that.”
This quote makes it sound like they really want to keep all 4 guys, but Moody, GP2 and Looney and picks for Lauri is the only deal they will actually entertain:
“I’m not going to get into specifics like that, there’s no way,” Lacob replied when asked if he would be willing to deal Podziemski. “(But) I don’t want to give him up, or JK. We love these guys. And Moses, Trayce (Jackson-Davis). These are good young players.”
They can want a lot of things but if there’s a market for Lauri that package isn’t bringing home anything
Lacob is doing what GSW does very well in inflating their own players values up in advance, not a bash, you want your FO doing this
Remember the year half the nba thought a broken down Iggy was the key to a championship ! They’ve always ran a good hype machine ( top notch ) and although they don’t trade much they usually kill it when they do
Yes you are correct, I can also see this as a way for Lacob to get Lauri’s value down to where he will make Ainge put forward basically a Lauri+money for Podziemski+Looney on the table.
Podz is going to be a solid NBA player and Kuminga could be an all star. So why would you trade them? Ainge dies the same thing acts if Lauri is worth a ransom. I am surprised Santos is not on Ainge list to trade for. A young player that is playing for a talented Brazil team. He will be better than Moody.
Santos better career than Moody? I wouldn’t say that- yet. Moody has a 30 point game to his name, Podz and Santos do not.
You guys act as if the Jazz are obligated to trade Markkanen to the Warriors.
For garbage
You guys act like Lauri is the best player in the world and the warriors should trade everything for him.
Now stop.
The Warriors are asking, Jazz are fine with keeping Lauri. So if you want him, you gotta pay.
What makes you think Trader Danny will give up his best assets for pennies on the dollar?
Bigs are rare this off season, multiple teams need bigs and Lauri is the best out there on the market. Yeah Danny is not giving the Warriors a discount.
Davey J , you said:
>
This quote makes it sound like they really want to keep all 4 guys, but Moody, GP2 and Looney and picks for Lauri is the only deal they will actually entertain:
>
I agree. That’s basically the offer. Moody, tons of picks, and a bag of chips. Utah wants Podz also, Dubs are saying no. And that’s all she wrote.
Lacob propping up his guys. No way.
I have a strong feeling LeBron is begging the Lakers to trade for Curry. The way he opens up space for LeBron to drive to the basket is making LeBron look great.
It’s funny because it should be the other way around, with Lebron joining his bestie Draymond and Steph, the 1-teamers, at GSW, the team he is 1-3 against in the Finals. If you cant beat em, join em! Lebron already has multiple teams, he can add some more, haha
He’s 1-0 against the Warriors when he has a healthy team and you don’t count the Durant weak years.
Now that is funny. He cant win with Kyrie and needs Green suspended to win. So that is the same as you are saying.
Kyrie was hurt the first year, Draymond broke the rules and got penalized the second, then Durant joined.
Hmm I was wondering why Lbj was playing so well
Agh yes Curry ofc
Hopefully Curry can start playing well himself here soon
Curry opens up the floor for Lebron. They put the best defender on Curry and sometimes double team him. That opens up the spacing for Lebron to drive to the basket. None of the other laker players do that for LeBron. AD is big so they tighten up the drive when AD and LeBron is on the floor. Just simple basketball that coaches see. Kyrie did that for Lebron too.
Shades of Steph getting triple teamed and leaving KD and Klay wide open for 3 years, while still being a top 10 scorer. We have seen this look before. Steph Curry makes every player around him better.
Yes on Podski, but I think Jonathan Kuminga is going to need some work. I guess he’s getting there but it’s a slooow process.
You draft these guys based on their incredible athleticism and hope they can put it together. Not sure about the All-Star comment for either guy but I don’t think you give them up for Lauri Markkanen.
Gary, I watched Kuminga become a lockdown defender last year, curious as to what games you were watching for you not to be as excited about him as you are with Podzi. Head over to youtube and search “Kuminga defensive highlights” or just “Kuminga highlights” and you will see why it’s easy to see a path to superstardom for Kuminga. If you think Podz’ ceiling is even close to Kuminga’s I really have to question why. Kuminga is built almost identically to Lebron James, and plays a both sides game like him. Kuminga is by far the most talented of the young core, but the rest are all solid to good NBA regulars. This is the general consensus on twitter.
If GSW plays Kuminga 35-40 MPG next year, the higher in the standings they land. No matter what anyone thinks of his ceiling, Podz still is a rough fit here on a team with Steph Curry. They play opposing styles, plus Podz passed up and open Steph much too often – big reason why I think Podz IQ isnt as high as it seems. There’s confidence, then there’s arrogance, Podz seems more like the latter. GSW can easily win a title if he is swapped for Lauri. They cannot win the title next year if Podz gets top 5 minutes on the team.
This is why I’ve been saying I don’t think Markkanen will be traded unless a new team comes along and wows them. Kinda like how Minnesota and the Cavs came along last minute.
GaryWarriorsRedSoxx, you said:
> I think Jonathan Kuminga is going to need some
> work.
Warriors fans seem to overlook both Kuminga’s 21 year old age and his actual performance, probably because they don’t realize how few minutes Kerr gives him.
Kuminga played 26 mpg last year, shot 53% from the field, scored > 16 ppg . If Kerr played him 34 mpg, like, say, Anthony Edwards or Lauri Markkanen, that pro-rates to 22.4 ppg.
After 3 seasons, Kuminga is still only 21. He played his 1st organized basketball game at 14, played in G-League against grown men at 17, and the NBA at 18. Kuminga is younger today than Steph, Klay, and Draymond were when they played their first NBA games. His athleticism and core strength is already extraordinary, and he’s still 2 years away from full natural physiological development.
Of course, none of this suggests that Steve Kerr will play him more than last year, given that GP2, Gui Santos or Lindy Waters also need their minutes.
Kuminga annd Podz are 4th options on a championship team. Jackson Davis is a reserve and Moody is a 6th man tops for his career and most likely will fall short of that. Lauri is worth more than all combined. Kuminga is intriguing to burst through that wall, but is so inconsistent I don’t think he’s much better than Okoro at this current moment. Certainly his ceiling is higher with his ability to create going to the basket, but the defensive and outside shooting edge has to go to Okoro at this point based on last season. How a combination of these players is worth a taller, better shooter, better rebounder and better defender in Lauri is lost on me.
Okoro has been a free agent for four weeks, and not 1 NBA team has shown interest, so your analysis is DoA. Okoro is considering offers from Taiwanese and Greek pro teams right now, and may never play another NBA ganne.
Podziemski is one of the hottest young properties in the NBA. He was all-rookie first-team and started for the USA Select Olympic Team this summer.
Kuminga and Podz are 21 years old. It’s a little early to talk about them “bursting through the wall”. They’re both younger than Steph, Klay and Draymond were when those guys played their first NBA seasons. Steph was basically a bench player until he was 24.
At 21, yes they may be, as you say, 4th options on an NBA team. At 26, Markkanen had played 5 seasons for Chicago and Cleveland, averaged 16 ppg and played sub-par defense. Two years later, Markkanen still hasn’t played an NBA playoff game or gone a single season without missing at least 25 games. A number of teams other than the Warriors have had offers for Markkanen declined, so it’s probably wise to assume Utah wants more than fair value in return.
Time spent in free agency means absolutely nothing. Okoro is a better shooter and better defender than Kuminga, this is true despite the age difference. Lauri is a better shooter, rebounder and defender. And as of right now, sadly, there are quite a few better shooters and defenders in Europe than Kuminga.
Acting like Lauri should have carried his Chicago, Cleveland or Utah teams to the playoffs is ridiculous. And acting like Podz is some revelation after one season is equally ridiculous. I love watching Podz play, but he makes insanely bad choices pretty consistently on offense. He’s not a factor on defense.
Steph would give up everyone but Draymond to have Lauri.
Feels like you nearly threw 3 RED bullseyes with that take, Druuu; only slight disagreement is I think Jackson-Davis will fit in really well at the starting center spot – might take him another half year or so to nail down screens and improve on the defensive end, but I am ECSTATIC he stepped up enough to supplant Looney. It’s time, Looney. No more starting for you as long as you wear the blue and dark yellow and whatever other lame colors Nike pushes out (home whites and road blues, Nike….is that too much to ask for?).
The fact that not a single NbA team has shown interest in Okoro means no NBA agrees with you.
He’s on his way to Taiwan.
So Tyus Jones and Gary Trent Jr. are minimum salary players because the NBA said so? They most definitely are worth more.
Just because Okoro or his agent decided to approach his next contract differently than those two, doesn’t now mean shooting 39% from deep and consistently guarding the opponent’s toughest wing aren’t NBA caliber skills.
You can blame GSW veteran players or coaches or whoever you want for consistently stunting the growth and not realizing the potential for some promising young players throughout the years. But suppressing their playing time and deferring to veterans in the pursuit of a play-in game and now turning around and saying they are worth actual established starting NBA talent in Lauri is quite a delusional strategy.
The definition of worth is what the market pays. If you don’t accept that, there are video games where you can make up the rules.
As fans, we don’t have all the information that the teams do about the player, nor do we know the availability of alternatives to that player.
Okoro is a plus defender and under-average offensively. He’s a bench player on a healthy Cleveland squad. After a 4 yr audition, the league has decided he’s got no more upside.
Derrick Jones Jr is a starting-caliber 3+D guy that can shoot a bit. He’s worth $9M per year. Okoro is less than that.
Gary Trent, similarly, leveled at a point where the Raptors didn’t see him as a starter. He’s an average 3+D guy, at best. The market spoke, he’s officially a minimum salary player.
Tyus Jones has good offensive numbers, but teams passed because he’s seen as a defensive liability. The market passed on him, he’s got a 1 year deal at $3M.
Back to Kuminga, Podz and Lauri, you guys. So……I’ve been commenting about this a lot (no, I’m not asking for a pat on the back or for you to go searching through the Warriors comment archives). I’m not changing my stance. I would give up BOTH Kuminga and Podz for Lauri, with the expectation that he signs long-term with the Dubs. I whole-heartedly believe Dunleavy and Lacob went into this offseason with an unabashed determination to consummate a WHOPPER of a trade. The last two years were a disgrace. As HOF-worthy Bob Myers’ credentials most certainly are, he left this team in shambles. Dunleavy has done an admirable job so far – unloading Poole’s hideous contract and not conceding to Klay’s outrageous demands – but he’s only maybe righted the ship about 90 degrees from the treacherous waters it was embarking on upon Myers’ departure. Like last season, the current roster has a PLETHORA of decent/up-and-coming options for Kerr to utilize – arguably to an even greater extent for this coming season. For this reason, I just don’t see how guys like Kuminga and especially Moody will get enough minutes to finally see what each is capable of doing on the court. It’s like a broken record: a new season, but the same fate is in store for these guys. Unless they are able to move Wiggins, I don’t like the prospects for Kuminga and Moody as Golden State Warriors players. There are gonna be a ton of guards and wings with the roster as constructed, which leads me to believe a trade for some size (PF, namely) is INEVITABLE if Dunleavy and Lacob mean to give Kerr a more balanced roster. At this stage, I’d rank Podz as the toughest one to see get moved out, but still I probably wouldn’t lose any sleep over it if it meant Lauri was coming to the bay. So Kuminga-Moody-a 1st or a couple 2nds would be ideal, but if it were to take Kuminga, Podz, and two 2nds, then so be it. The Warriors have enough young talent to withstand this type of loss. I’d rather pull from the current roster than surrender SEVERAL imminent picks. It’s still too early to say for sure, but Dunleavy’s greatest strength as a GM could very well be his knack for finding non-lottery draft assets.
Kuminga is not dependable at all.
What use is great athleticism when you are not dependable? How many more years do we say he is young and developing? Podz knows how to play already and is that guy who’s effort makes the team better. If I am Utah, I am looking for trades with other teams with better options
Trade Payton, Waters, Cash, draft rights and future considerations for Kelly Olynyk Vooch or Steven Adams
Start Heild, give More minutes to Moody, waive Spencer and sign Post
When an organization says it’s reluctant to trade a player, it usually means they’re ready to trade him in the right deal. I don’t see LM going to GSW, but I suspect GSW would have zero problem building a deal for LM around Kuminga.
Kuminga isn’t as valuable an asset as many here think. He’s 21, but that matters less than the fact that he’s going to have to be paid after this year, and will be looking for an early extension in a few months. Is GSW willing to pay him max for being 21 and talented? Problem is someone will. There’s a reason Podz (with 3 years left on his rookie deal) is said to be more valued by UTH, and it’s not because he’s a better player. GSW, too, might not be crazy about paying both Kuminga and LM with their other salaries, since it means they’ll be over the second apron for quite awhile.
Light years ahead of everyone else.