Warriors Messed Up By Rejecting Trade for 30 PPG Sharpshooter
The Golden State Warriors reportedly rejected a trade for Lauri Markkanen ahead of the 2024-25 season, as they were hesitant to part with Brandin Podziemski and/or Jonathan Kuminga. Nearly 15 months later, it would appear that the Warriors made a blunder by not acquiring the
On Sunday, Markkanen dropped 47 points — his third 40-point game of the season — as the Jazz pulled off a 150-147 double OT win over the
Meanwhile, Kuminga and Podz have lost their starting roles on the Warriors and are expected to come off the bench for the rest of the season. Head coach Steve Kerr prefers
Warriors Chose Podz
Markkanen, 28, could have been the perfect piece in an aging Warriors team that desperately needs a consistent second option behind Curry. While
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Warriors had a deal in place for Markkanen but were too high on Podziemski during the summer of 2024. Stein noted that the Warriors were willing to part with draft assets, but not Podz.
“[The Warriors are] still unwilling to surrender Brandin Podziemski in a trade package for the 7-foot Finn,” Stein wrote in his Substack in August 2024.
“Golden State, to date, has pursued Markkanen without including Podziemski or Jonathan Kuminga in trade packages laden with future draft compensation. Obviously, no team, to this point, has met Danny Ainge’s asking price.”
Draymond Was Against Warriors Trade
According to ESPN’s Anthony Slater, Draymond Green advised the Warriors front office to avoid parting with young assets in favor of Markkanen, a proven offensive threat.
“[Draymond] Green even told [Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy] and controlling owner Joe Lacob [that summer] not to green-light a trade for Lauri Markkanen, considering the Utah Jazz were asking for all the draft picks and young players,” Slater wrote.
Draymond also openly spoke about why he was against the trade.
“I’m a big fan of [Markkanen’s] game,” Green told Slater. “But I think if you want to do something so huge, you better be certain that this is
Warriors Averted ‘Trash’ Trade?
Ahead of the 2024-25 season, Green felt the team dodged a bullet by not trading for Markkanen.
“That could have been trash, by the way,” Green told ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk of a potential Warriors trade for Lauri Markkanen.
“Markkanen coming here, we don’t know. We have never seen it. So there was no thought of what could have been because we don’t know what that look like.”
It’s also worth noting that the Warriors could have acquired Markkanen when he was on the last year of his rookie extension deal that would have paid him $18 million in the 2024-25 season. However, the sharpshooter
In other words, the Warriors could have had Markkanen when he was affordable.
Coach Prime Makes First Comment After Shedeur Sanders Makes Browns Debut
Deion Sanders, aka Coach Prime, made his first post after Shedeur Sanders made his
Sanders came in relief of Dillon Gabriel on Sunday, who was in concussion protocol. Sanders had struggled in the outing as it was his first snaps with the first-team offense. Although it wasn’t the performance that Sanders wanted, it was his first career
Now, on Monday, Coach Prime took to social media to share his first post since his son in Shedeur made his NFL debut.
“We must acknowledge all that GOD does & say Thank you,” Sanders
Coach Prime has yet to officially comment on his thoughts on Shedeur’s performance, but he will likely be asked about this week at Colorado.
However, Deion has made it clear his focus is on coaching the Colorado Buffaloes, but he will be rooting for his son to have success.
In his first NFL game, Sanders was 4-of-16 for 47 yards and an interception.
Sanders ‘Thankful’ for the Support of Browns Fans
Cleveland’s offense had been a problem all season, and
On Sunday, with Gabriel in concussion protocol, he entered the game to a massive cheer from Browns fans. Fans were cheering after every completion as they were thrilled to see Sanders.
Following the game, Sanders said he was thankful for all the support from the fans.
“Yeah, I’m extremely thankful. Well, first, let me say this,” Sanders said after the game on Sunday. “When Dillon out there playing and all that, I appreciate the fans. I appreciate everybody, but I’m a good person overall, so I don’t really like him not feeling comfortable, confident when he get out there. So it puts everything in a tough spot, and it’s not helping the team. So, that could be taken as, ‘okay, I’m being a distraction’, even though I ain’t doing that, even though I’m not doing nothing.
“But I’m thankful for the supporters, thankful for the fans, thankful for everybody out there that believes. And yeah, when I got out there, I definitely felt them, and I’m truly thankful for it. I’m just thankful that I’m out here, I’m thankful for the opportunity. Thankful seeing all them 12 jerseys out there, and it was a great feeling for that, but the feeling of losing, that ain’t nothing we going to get comfortable with, like, on my watch, for sure.”
If Gabriel isn’t cleared, Sanders is in line to start on Sunday when the Browns go on the road to play the Las Vegas Raiders.
Stefanski Believes There Are Things to ‘Clean Up’ for Sanders
Sanders was thrown into the game after halftime, and it was the first time he was playing with the first-team offense.
With that, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski knew it was a tough spot for the rookie. But the coach believes there are positives from it, but also things to clean up.
“Yeah, obviously all players, we’ll look at it, but he’s going to battle like he does,” Stefanski said. “So, I’m sure there’s things that we can clean up, but those are things we’ll look at tomorrow.”
If Sanders does start on Sunday, he will have a full week with the first-team offense to find chemistry.
