You know who's on the rise? The Utah Jazz! You know who's falling to pieces? The Golden State Warriors! In fact, Utah might be about to start their most successful era ever while Golden State's most successful era as a franchise is coming to a close.
And to think, maybe it wouldn't have turned out this way if the Jazz had sent Lauri Markkanen over to the Warriors back when the latter had the chance in 2024. Two years ago feels like an eternity, but there were discussions between Golden State and Utah about sending Markkanen, but only for the motherload.
If that wasn't enough, the deal didn't come to fruition because Draymond Green advised them against dealing with Utah due to his distrust of Danny Ainge. While he may not have been too wrong about that - the JJJ trade has only looked smarter despite him playing only three games - Markkanen may have been what saved Golden State.
Considering they were trying to get the Jazz star and Paul George at the time, it was doable, but it would have cost their entire future. But with Stephen Curry, a top-15 player of all-time (and he's not 15), entering the twilight of his career, that was a risk worth taking that they opted not to take.
Now look where it's gotten them
The Warriors fought tooth and nail for the last play-in spot in the Western Conference. They have been snakebitten by injuries this season, first Jimmy Butler went down, then Stephen Curry started dealing with a balky knee.
While that's normal a contenders who's aging out, Markkanen could have made it so that the Warriors didn't have to depend on their older players nearly as much as they have. He also would have been the perfect big man to pair up to next to Steph.
With Markkanen, the Warriors' relevance would have been extended both during and after the Curry era. But because they passed on the Finnisher, it's never looked more over for them. It's like the old saying goes, "What goes up must come down." Golden State's downfall was happening regardless, but Markkanen would have at least kept them as high as possible for as long as possible.
It's not like the Jazz trading Markkanen is the only reason why the Warriors have fallen as far as they have, as their mismanagement of players like Jonathan Kuminga, inability to draft well like they once did, and of course, "the punch" all factored into why they've fallen on hard times.
But Markkanen would have been a home run addition who could have erased all that. It would have stuck out more if Miami and Jimmy Butler hadn't been on the outs at last year's trade deadline. But now that he's out indefinitely and that the Warriors have had quite the swift fall from grace, not getting Markkanen should stand out more than ever.
The Jazz didn't deal the biggest blow, but they dealt the final blow to the Warriors.