Warriors’ Draymond Green on Lauri Markkanen Trade Rumors: ‘It Could Have Been Garbage’ | News, results, highlights, stats and rumours

Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green lost no sleep when it became clear that the team would not land Lauri Markkanen from the Utah Jazz.

“It could have been trash, by the way,” he said of bringing the 7’0″ forward to Golden State, per ESPN’s Oh Youngmisuk. “The Markkanen is coming here, we don’t know. We’ve never seen it. So there was no thought of what could have been, because we don’t know what it looks like.”

Green told The Athletic’s Anthony Slater The Warriors front office approached him with the idea of ​​getting both Markkanen and Paul George this past offseason.

“The conversation was always about that possibility,” he said. “You get both of those guys, you make a huge splash. But the Clippers weren’t really willing to play ball. Then Danny Ainge was Danny Ainge.”

Green said the Los Angeles Clippers weren’t that interested in a sign-and-trade that removed the Warriors from the George sweepstakes. That paved the way for him to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Markkanen subsequently signed an extension with the Jazz, and the timing of the deal means the Jazz cannot trade him until next summer at the earliest.

Especially after George joined the Sixers, the argument against a Markkanen trade from Golden State’s perspective was that he was unlikely to raise the team’s cap high enough to justify the overall cost. The 27-year-old simply hasn’t proven he’s that kind of star yet.

However, some sort of consolidation trade feels inevitable for the Warriors.

Even if you have 12 players who are good enough to contribute, that is 12-man rotations head coach Steve Kerr has experimented with that is not sustainable for a team with playoff hopes. Utilizing some of that depth down the road for a decorated veteran could be beneficial.

For now, Green and his teammates get an opportunity to show how good the roster is as currently constructed before general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. considering something too radical.