Warriors Cornerstone: Splash Jazz trade 'could have been trash'

At some point this summer, it looked like the Golden State Warriors were on the verge of a spectacular trade.

Paul George, now with the Philadelphia 76ers, was the main target. The All-Star had fallen by the wayside in Southern California and wanted a contract that the Los Angeles Clippers wouldn't pay him. However, the Warriors sensed that George was the type of star who would surpass them. Unfortunately, the Clippers were unwilling to complete a sign-and-trade that would have sent him to the Bay.

Mikal Bridges and Lauri Markkanen were two other players the Warriors were eager to sign. Bridges was taken off the board when the Brooklyn Nets sent him to the New York Knicks for more picks than just a lottery ticket. That left Markkanen, who was drafted by the Chicago Bulls before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers and finally to the Utah Jazz.

Given all the travel, it's no wonder Markkanen wants to stay with a rebuilding team. However, the reason the Warriors couldn't trade for the rising star was their lack of draft capital and their desire to hold on to young players like Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga.

Warriors Cornerstone: Splash Jazz trade 'could have been trash'

Warriors cornerback Draymond Green is known for his outspokenness, which is why he is so closely involved in the team's roster decisions. When confronted with his team's failed trade for Markkanen, the defenseman didn't mince his words.

“That could have been trash, by the way,” Green said, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “Markkanen is coming here, we don’t know. We've never seen it before. So there was no thought of what could have been because we don’t know what that looks like.”

Green's assertion that the Warriors may have played poorly is correct. There have been several cases where a transaction looked good on paper but turned out not so well. In this case, Markkanen appeared to complement Golden State's frontcourt with his length and shooting.

He's right

For example, Markkanen isn't on George's level because he's not a great shot artist. Although the Finnish striker can play one-on-one, he is more effective when eliminating others. However, the Warriors just needed him to compete against Green, Kuminga and Stephen Curry.

Although Green is correct in pointing out that the Markkanen push may not have worked, it still appears as if it did. In fact, Golden State's biggest problem is the fact that Green, Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis – their starting backcourt – have difficulty playing off each other And jeopardize the distance of the attack. If Markkanen was with the Warriors, they could use him ahead of Kuminga or even Jackson-Davis and avoid this problem.

Although the score is now 2-1, they've gotten off to a rocky start. Kuminga plays 19.7 minutes per game, sixth on the team. He is averaging just 8.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting 33.3 percent from the field and 11.1 percent from 3 rebounds. It has no folds through which it can slide within the arch. He looks unnatural and uncomfortable in a stretch role.

With that in mind, the way Andrew Wiggins is playing suggests the Warriors made the right choice. Wiggins is a player who can develop his own ideas and has developed into a real long-range opponent. He is averaging 19.7 points per game and hitting 57.9 percent of his three-pointers. As Golden State looks to the future, holding on to the former No. 1 could be important.

If Kuminga and Podziemski play their best this season or beyond, maybe everything will work out for them. If not, they may have to find a replacement for Kuminga as early as next offseason.