It is no secret that the Warriors were after Paul George and Lauri Markkanen over the summer, but what was recently revealed is that the storied franchise were trying to land both star players at once.
The Athletic dropped the news as the NBA season began:
“When Dunleavy laid out the blueprint to [Steph] Curry and [Draymond] Green, Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen wasn’t Plan B. He was a subsection of Plan A,” The Athletic’s Anthony Slater wrote. “The Warriors wanted both wings — believing George’s opt-out threat would allow them to protect the required assets to entice Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge, and Markkanen’s reasonable $18 million returning salary could make the financials work.
Draymond Green backed this up, but explained how the Clippers were being difficult.
“The conversation was always about that possibility,” Green told Slater. “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 being Danny Ainge.”
Slater suggests that had the Warriors landed George from the Clippers, they may have been willing to “unload everything” to meet Ainge’s high asking price.
But without PG, it seems like the Dubs weren’t all that comfortable with Ainge’s steep demands for the Jazz’s star forward.
Golden State star Steph Curry had a very matter-of-fact response to the situation.
“Let’s keep it real,” Curry said. “Most teams are probably not going to want to help us.”
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