The Utah Jazz might disappoint a few teams amid their attempt to entice franchises with the Lauri Markkanen trade. As soon as the free agency market opened, franchises rushed to grab the best fits for their sides. While some teams upgraded their roster in this flurry, many missed out on the opportunity. However, these teams had a second opportunity when Markkanen’s expiring contract in August caught everyone’s eyes. But, the latest report about Jazz executive Danny Ainge’s decision may leave a lot of GMs to frown.

Even after the busy free agency market, the Jazz has secured $30 million in their cap space. To be more precise, they can play around with $34 million in order to shape their roster. Despite the cap space, they have a big decision to make regarding the re-signing of Lauri Markkanen. The 27-year-old earning a $16 million annual salary will enter free agency in August. And, importantly, he is also eligible for a $212 million four-year max contract in his next cycle. So Danny Ainge has a big decision in his hands.

Earlier reports revealed Ainge’s ambition to rope in younger stars with a heavily pick-based trade, like the NY Knicks‘ latest Mikal Bridges trade, to trade out Lauri. Jonathan Kuminga, Keegan Murray, and Jaden McDaniels came in as the front-runners of the trade. As per The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, the Sacramento Kings approached the Jazz, protecting Murray with a heavy pick-based offer. Slater added, “They put a deadline to their side of the deal, needing an answer quickly considering the urgency of the dissolving market.” 

However, the Jazz failed to meet the deadline, and they eventually signed DeMar DeRozan for a $70 million contract. Moreover, Slater further revealed a crushing update to the remaining franchises, especially the Golden State Warriors. He added, “There’s growing skepticism league-wide that Jazz executive Danny Ainge will actually move on any Markkanen deal.” 

Danny Ainge’s adamancy and the Warriors’ misery

The Warriors have had a poor outing in the off-season after losing Klay Thompson and Chris Paul. So ever since Lauri Markkanen’s name hit the headlines, the Dubs have been on the front lines. Earlier, the report suggested that the Jazz looked for a pick-heavy trade. But, the latest Kings’ offer involving picks, but without Keegan Murray was rejected. Danny Ainge seemed to be adamant about roping in a young star in the trade.

On the other hand, the Dubs with Jonathan Kuminga may still have a chance. But, the only issue is, that Kuminga thinks he is a $200 million talent in his next cycle. However, the latest update revealed that the Dubs have presented a “substantial offer” to trade Markkanen as per The Athletic’s Tony Jones.

Speaking of the Dubs’ picks’ availability and its comparison to the Mikal Bridges trade, Jones felt that the Dubs might have a problem. He added, “You look at what Mikal Bridges went for a couple of weeks ago, he went for five [first-round picks], and it wasn’t just five firsts. It was five firsts, plus swaps, plus Bojan Bogdanović.” Notably, the Warriors only have two unprotected first-round picks. Can the Dubs still pull off a trade with the available picks? Let us know in the comments.

Before you go, do not forget to check out Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, to open up about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud. Keep checking this space for more such updates.