The Golden State Warriors butchered a potential Lauri Markkanen trade. There’s, unfortunately, no way to escape that fact. He could be on the team flanking Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler right now — and, heavens, what a perfect fit he would be — but he’s not, and it’s because the Warriors refused to part with guard Brandin Podziemski. The further away we get from those trade talks between the Dubs and Jazz, the crazier they become in hindsight.

After Markkanen signed his extension in Utah last August, the specifics of those talks were reported by Shams Charania, Tony Jones, and Anthony Slater of The Athletic:

“The Warriors made the most aggressive offer, centered around Moses Moody, multiple first-round picks, pick swaps and second-rounders, team sources from both sides said. Utah wanted Brandin Podziemski in any theoretical deal. The Warriors were protective of Podziemski in the Markkanen conversation and a few other leaguewide trade proposals this summer [2024], league sources said.”

My jaw dropped further with every passing sentence. How can both teams in trade negotiations be so wrong? Utah was wrong for demanding Brandin Podziemski instead of Moses Moody, and the Warriors were more wrong for refusing!

Warriors protected the wrong young player in Lauri Markkanen talks

Yes, I know that a year ago, after a stellar rookie season, Podziemski was widely viewed as the Warriors’ future star, while Moody’s standing in the Warriors’ future wasn’t quite as clear. I also know that if the Warriors added Markkanen, the chances of them adding Jimmy Butler likely would have decreased (but they wouldn’t have disappeared altogether, as the Warriors only had to give up one first-rounder to get Butler, something they probably still could have done even after adding Markkanen).

Now, in fall of 2025, it appears that Moody might be the more promising prospect among the two. But even without that knowledge, it was still confusing how unwilling the team was to part with Podziemski in exchange for an All-Star. It made no sense at the time, and has aged even worse after Podz didn’t make the leap fans hoped for in year two.

Sometimes these situations are simpler than we make them out to be, and I think this is a perfect example of that; Joe Lacob and Mike Dunleavy Jr. refused to part with a player who averaged 9.2 points per game for a 27 year-old who was coming off his second straight season of averaging at least 23 points and 8 rebounds. Is that a reductive way to view the situation? Maybe. But if the front office had taken that reductive view, it likely would have landed Lauri Markkanen.

Markkanen just dazzled at EuroBasket

For Warriors fans, watching Lauri Markkanen succeed in the NBA and in events like EuroBasket — where he averaged 23.1 points per game, fourth-most in the tourney — isn’t like watching an ex start doing better without you, because the Warriors and Lauri Markkanen were never officially together.

It’s more like watching that person you texted with for two weeks and got along really well with but never actually met in person, but you still randomly daydream about every once in a while. What, too specific?

Regardless, Markkanen still obviously possesses starpower to be a difference-maker, and he showed it off at EuroBasket while representing Finland. But once he comes back stateside, he’ll retrreat to the mountains of Utah, popping into the minds of Warriors fans ever so often.