SAN FRANCISCO – Lauri Markkanen, in many ways, is the embodiment of the modern NBA’s ideal scoring forward.
A mobile 7-footer who can bomb threes and attack off the dribble while getting to the free throw line at an elite rate, he is the kind of frontcourt player NBA teams have coveted ever since the Curry-and-Kerr Warriors revolutionized the NBA almost a decade ago.
Now, the shorthanded Warriors will have to deal with a blossoming superstar they reportedly were close to trading for a year ago.
“Lauri Markkanen is having an incredible run, and he’s been playing at a high level for a couple of years now, so it presents a lot of problems,” Kerr said after Sunday’s practice.
Last summer, Markkanen was the subject of trade talks that saw the [Warriors reportedly offer Moses Moody and several draft picks](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5683827/2024/08/07/lauri-markkanen-jazz-extension/) to the Jazz. Then-second year guard Brandin Podziemski was off the table.
The trade never materialized, and Markannen signed a five-year, $238 million deal to stay in Salt Lake City.
Though Utah is scuttling through another lost season at 5-11, the 28-year-old is far from the reason why.
He has been a prolific bucket-getter during his first eight seasons in the NBA, twice averaging over 20 points per game. But Markannen has taken a leap to start the 2025-26 season.
Markkanen has been one of the top scorers in the NBA, averaging 29.3 points per game, ranking him seventh in the league. He is making 38.4% of his 3-pointers while also getting to the foul line a 6.7 times a night.
He has games scoring 51, 47 and 40 points this season. Tonight, he will face a Warriors team missing frontcourt staples Jonathan Kuminga (knee) and Al Horford (sciatica), and possibly Draymond Green (foot).
Meanwhile, Moody has cemented himself as a mainstay in the Warriors rotation, averaging 12.3 points per game and making a career-high 42.6% from 3-point land while doubling as the team’s best perimeter defender.
Podziemski has played in all 18 games and averaged a career-high 12.8 points per game, and despite shuffling between the starting lineup and coming off the bench appears to be finding his groove as a scorer. He has hit double-figures in four of his last five games.
Neither one is likely to make an all-star team in their careers – something Markannen achieved in 2023 and should repeat this season – but both have established themselves as starting-caliber players for the Warriors.