The Warriors Must Trade For This Star Center
After their championship in 2022, the Warriors failed to make a deep playoff run the following two years. With Klay Thompson gone, it's time for the Warriors to shake up their roster and trade for Lauri Markkanen.
Lack Of Size In The West
The Warriors historically have been known for their lethal small ball lineup, with Draymond Green as the traditional center. Still, those lineups were especially efficient because of how talented a core of Curry, Klay, Durant, and Draymond could be. With the Warriors' current talent, they don't have the same margin for error they once had, and an offensive-oriented big is needed.
The Western Conference is filled with talented bigs such as Rudy Gobert, Karl Anthony Towns, Kevin Durant, Jokic, and Anthony Davis. Golden State doesn't have a good matchup for any players to make a deep playoff run.
The Warriors need a big who can dominate the paint to combat Curry's high-volume shooting from the perimeter.
Lauri's Skillset
Throughout his career, Lauri has been an extremely efficient player, and in the last two seasons, he's been one of the most efficient overall players in the entire NBA. Just last season, Lauri averaged 23 points on 48% from the field and 39% from three. He's shown the ability to have the offense run through him and has a reliable post-game.
Markkanen's ability to shoot the three and his posting ability would make him a terrific fit for the Warriors. Playing with someone of the magnitude of Steph Curry and with someone who has the passing capability Draymond Green has, Lauri will constantly find favorable matchups in the paint and will have good looks on perimeter jumpers.
Valuable Trade Pieces
The Warriors have several valuable trade pieces they can offer in a potential trade for a star. Pieces such as Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody are coveted developmental players that rebuilding teams want to take a chance on. In addition, Golden State has the ability to use Andrew Wiggins as a filler to match salaries.
While Wiggins underperformed last season, he has shown the ability to average close to 20 points as the third option and plays good perimeter defense. If Golden State were to package either Moses Moody or Kuminga, along with Wiggins and a first-round pick, they would be very competitive to land any available star player through a trade.
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