With most of the biggest offseason storylines resolved, all eyes have been on what the Utah Jazz plan to do with Lauri Markkanen. More specifically, what they would get back if they trade him to the Golden State Warriors.
The Athletic's Shams Charania reported in a July 15 story that the Warriors are asking for the farm and then some for Markkanen.
"The Jazz...have asked for the bulk of young talent and capital the Warriors possess, including (Moses) Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, and Brandin Podziemski, along with picks, which has been a non-starter thus far for Golden State, league sources said."
Charania later confirmed that the Jazz's focus is on Podziemski more than it on acquiring Kuminga in an interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio.
“The Jazz are more focused on Brandin Podziemski”@ShamsCharania breaks down a potential Warriors trade with the Jazz for Lauri Markkanen to @WorldWideWob, @Darthamin, and Ryan McDonough at #NBA2kSummerLeague pic.twitter.com/24qnyamEbN
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 16, 2024
Kuminga had a bigger role with the Warriors, which led to more production, but Podziemski is coming off an impressive rookie season. As Charania reported, they likely will want both no matter what, but there are a few reasons why the Jazz would want Podziemski over Kuminga.
1. Podziemski will be cost-controlled for three years
Though he has shown promise, no one is hyping up Podziemski to be a future star in the NBA. No one's ruling that out either, but the point is that his potential is exciting enough that having him on three more years of his rookie contract is an excellent asset to have.
Having Podziemski around would help the Jazz further evaluate who would be worth keeping around as they enter their next era. Even if he's not necessarily a future star - and it wouldn't be fair to place such high expectations on him - he could be a connector for what could potentially be the most glorious era of Jazz basketball since the Stockton-Malone days.
The bottom line is that even in one season's time, Podziemski has proven that he's a keeper who will have a long and prosperous NBA career. Even if his ceiling isn't too high at the moment, he's absolutely a building block to acquire for a rebuilding team.
2. Acquiring Kuminga comes with the dilemma of his extension
Kuminga is coming off his best NBA season as a pro. Therefore, betting on his potential isn't necessarily a bad idea for the Jazz. There are two problems that would come with acquiring Kuminga.
1. As of now, there's no telling if he's going to be a star or a starter. He looked like he was starting to put it together, but there's no telling if last season was the first step towards stardom or if how he played last season is as good as it gets.
2. Kuminga is eligible for an extension. The Jazz know what it's all about when it comes to playing chicken with extension-eligible wings on rookie contracts (See Hayward, Gordon). Because Kuminga is still seen mostly for his potential, it's a massive risk to give him a massive extension.
It would be less of a risk if the Warriors made some actual noise this past season with Kuminga holding up on his end, but they didn't. Kuminga may very well be an All-Star in the coming years, but for now, all of that is hypothetical until he proves otherwise.
3. Acquiring Podziemski instead of Kuminga may come with more draft assets
These trade discussions will ultimately come down to how much of the Warriors' future the Jazz will own when Stephen Curry and Draymond Green retire. As of now, Kuminga has proven that he's a better player than Podziemski and because of that, the Warriors may not want to trade as many assets to go with Kuminga to Utah.
Because Kuminga has shown more, he's shown that he's more likely to become an All-Star than Podziemski currently. Because Podziemski projects to be more of a role player, he might be eaiser to give up with assets due to his lower ceiling than Kuminga.
The Warriors only have so much time left with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. There's a solid chance that they will fall hard when those two retire. So, if it comes down to Kuminga and less first-rounders or Podziemski and more first-rounders, the Jazz may find the latter deal more appetizing knowing what's to come for Golden State.