The Golden State Warriors are still hot in hot pursuit for Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen. The Dubs have identified their target and they are determined to land their man.
Their chase for the All-Star forward, however, has become a bit complicated. At least one team appears to be in the race for Markkanen as well, with the San Antonio Spurs reportedly registering interest in the 27-year-old.
Golden State Warriors Leading Chase for Lauri Markkanen
The good news for the Warriors, however, is that they seem to be in pole position in the race for Markkanen’s services. Spurs insider Tim Montemayor recently reported that while San Antonio is willing to up their ante for Utah’s prized star, the Warriors remain the favorites to land Markkanen.
“The San Antonio Spurs are willing to put in a third first-round pick and you can tell that they are seeing that they have to come with a sense of urgency to get this deal done,” Montemayor said (h/t Caleb Gebrewold of The Dunk Central).
“I’m telling you the Golden State Warriors, from what I was told yesterday, are firmly in the drivers seat to make this trade happen. There is no sense of urgency to make that deal happen now, today. The Jazz are going to drag this out as long as they can.”
Laurie Markkanen trade update from @TheMontyShow:
○ #Spurs are willing to include a third first-round pick
○ Ainge is not interested in Keldon Johnson for #Jazz
○ #Warriors are firmly in the drivers seat with an offer that involves a third team(t/h @mrTOPK ) pic.twitter.com/WtzKprer6G
— SpursReport (@SpursReporter) July 24, 2024
The fact that the Jazz have continued to hold out up until this point in the offseason indicates their hesitation to part ways with Markkanen. They aren’t closing the door on a potential blockbuster trade, but you can be sure that they are demanding a major haul to even consider trading Markkanen away.
At this point, it appears that it’s a matter of who’s going to budge first.
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