Question: Why did the Utah Jazz trade Walker Kessler to a conference rival? Because said conference rival was desperate, and there's an excellent chance the draft assets they sent Utah will be excellent down the line. Second question: if a similar deal presented itself for Lauri Markkanen, would the Jazz take it?
Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey's proposed trade between the Jazz and Golden State Warriors poses this exact question. He proposed a deal in which the Jazz would own the Golden State Warriors' future at the cost of Markkanen. These are the full details of the trade.
Warriors receive: Markkanen
Jazz receive: Jimmy Butler, Yaxel Lendeborg and first-round picks in 2028, 2030 and 2032
This exact conversation involving Markkanen and Golden State came up in trade rumors two years ago, but it sounded like the Warriors weren't that serious about it, and neither definitely weren't either. So would things change now?
Golden State is reaching the end of the Stephen Curry era, and they just lost what may be the final LeBron James sweepstakes. Their level of desperation may be a hell of a lot more amplified now than it was then and certainly more than the Lakers were when they offered their future for Kessler.
At first glance, it would seem foolish for the Jazz to make themselves worse after the moves they've made signified that they were planning to return to the playoffs. It's already been a rough couple of years for the fans. Would they really want to subject them to more?
The Kessler trade signaled that anything is on the table
Nobody thought Kessler would actually leave Utah this summer. While that ultimately ended up being the case, it's not like they handed him over to the Lakers. LA paid a premium for Kessler, a talented player who has never played for a good team coming off an injury-plagued season.
Utah likely values Markkanen even more than they did Kessler, so if a team wants him, it would have to fit Danny Ainge's MO of ripping them off. That's why Golden State is an interesting hypothetical team. They are the NBA's oldest team who didn't even make the playoffs.
Markkanen would help, but how much would he compensate for a declining roster? Like the Lakers, making such a blockbuster trade would also prohibit them from trading draft assets for another star, which would lead to them being quite stuck long-term during a time in which first-round draft assets are more valuable than ever thanks to the flattened odds.
This is one of those trade proposals where there's no wrong answer. Trading Markkanen would signal that Utah trusts their rebuild with the amount of young talent they have, while keeping him would signal that they believe he can be one of the best players on their next playoff contender.
Ainge loves ripping off teams he trades with, and this proposal fits that, but would the Jazz make the same compromise they did with Kessler? It will all depend on what they believe the best direction is.
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