Draymond Green sabotages Warriors, Bucks hold, Jazz trade stalls

As the NBA offseason unfolds, we’ve reached a point of relative stagnation. The primary free agents are off the board and trade talks are largely at a standstill, with potential blockbusters hanging in the balance over prospects and draft picks. And yet, there’s still plenty of potential movement on the horizon. Front offices don’t stop for the Olympics, and preseason basketball is still months away.

Here are the latest NBA rumors to start your week.

The Utah Jazz are teetering on the edge between rebuilding and taking the next step. It will ultimately depend on what Utah decides to do with Lauri Markkanen, who has until Aug. 6 to decide on a contract extension with the team. If the Jazz trade him — and the Golden State Warriors, among other teams, are undoubtedly interested — it would reset the timeline and provide a clear direction. If Markkanen extends his contract with Utah, it’s full steam ahead for the Jazz. It’s time to start winning games.

Utah has the unique flexibility to go either way. Will Hardy is a brilliant coach who has put the Jazz in the postseason picture the past two seasons. Utah has been on the playoff bubble leading up to consecutive trade deadlines, but Danny Ainge has made deliberate moves to erase Utah’s position in the NBA Draft lottery. That may not happen again if Markkanen extends, as the Jazz are equipped with a mountain of future draft picks to use in trade talks to improve the roster.

If the Jazz go the other way and lose, well, those picks will come in handy. A recent development could indicate Utah’s preferred direction. According to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribunethere have been “no other NBA teams interested” in trading for sixth man Jordan Clarkson. That certainly indicates a desire to trade the veteran guard, who could stand in the way of Collin Sexton, Isaiah Collier and other prospects in Utah’s rotation.

It’s a bit surprising to see Clarkson’s name become a blip in trade talks. He’s under contract for two more years at around $14 million per year, which is a fair (if slightly high) price. Last season was a step back for Clarkson, but it came on the heels of a legitimately fantastic 2022-23 campaign in which the Jazz could have easily traded Clarkson for a first-round pick or two. He remains a productive complementary scorer who has made a conscious effort to pass and defend at a higher level. There are flaws, of course, but Clarkson’s shooting ability and experience should appeal some to plough.

Utah probably won’t trade Clarkson for scraps without financial incentive, but keep an eye on the 32-year-old as the season progresses. If the league needs a backup sparkplug, Utah will pick up the phone.

Earlier this offseason, Kevin O’Connor had The bell Reported “rumblings” that the Milwaukee Bucks would like to play “a more versatile style of defense” have led to natural questions about Brook Lopez’s future as an aging, drop coverage rim protector with limited mobility outside the painted area. Milwaukee has the personnel to rotate and get more aggressive with a scheme built around Giannis Antetokounmpo, but Lopez ties the Bucks to a more traditional coverage.

Despite the noise, however, it doesn’t appear that Lopez is actually slated to be written off. While the 36-year-old would certainly return value — and there’s only so much time to return value in a Lopez trade — the Bucks have no intention of trading their starting center, according to GM Jon Horst.

“First of all, it’s rumors and chatter that make the league so interesting and fun, so people are always going to speculate and talk about it. And I don’t normally talk about these kinds of things with the media, but I will say, because Brook is such a core part of who we are, we have zero intentions of trading Brook.” (h/t The Athletics)

That puts a stop to any fundamental change Milwaukee might have this summer. Aside from Bobby Portis, who appears secure on the roster for now, the Bucks don’t have many obvious trade options. The Bucks’ front office has done a good job of filling out the rotation, adding players like Gary Trent Jr. and Delon Wright to the backcourt, but this is largely the same Milwaukee team as last season. For better or worse.

If the Bucks decide to make a big deal, there’s a good chance it will happen closer to the deal deadline. This will be Doc Rivers’ first full offseason with the team, which is certainly notable. The Bucks might as well see what the roster looks like with some cohesion before making any drastic deals. It’s hard to overstate how important Lopez has been to Milwaukee’s defensive success in recent years. Giannis typically gets credit for the Bucks’ defense, but Lopez’s steadfast rim protection is what allows Giannis to take so many risks as a roamer. He finished second in DPOY voting the season before and has two All-Defense nods on his resume.

Normally, trading bad defenders to change your defensive strategy is a good idea. Trading elite defenders to change things up is, well, a bad strategy.

The Golden State Warriors have been the most talked-about team in the NBA rumor mill as of late. The Dubs are widely considered the most involved team in Lauri Markkanen conversations, with the departures of Klay Thompson and Chris Paul opening the door for a complete roster overhaul. With Stephen Curry and Draymond Green in the twilight of their respective careers, there’s real pressure on the Warriors to deliver a winning team.

That pressure hasn’t been enough to get Golden State to let go of Brandin Podziemski or Jonathan Kuminga so far. Both of the Warriors’ top prospects were left out of the Paul George trade talks that fell through, and now Golden State has remained optimistic about excluding them from the Markkanen negotiations. At some point, the Dubs’ chances of a blockbuster trade become inextricably linked to how seriously the front office values ​​its 21-year-old rising stars.

So Draymond Green’s latest comments on his podcast provide a pretty intriguing insight into Golden State’s offseason. Apparently, Green only cares about the team and is allergic to selfish motives. So much so that he advised the front office against making a mysterious win-now trade that would have hurt the Warriors’ long-term prospects.

Hmmmmmm.

It’s hard not to speculate that he’s talking about Markkanen, but of course we don’t know for sure. There are endless possibilities that would fit a short-term trade that benefits Draymond and Steph, but how many so-called “bad” trades don’t involve Kuminga or Podziemski? The Warriors aren’t throwing major assets into trade discussions unless they’re returning significant value.

Draymond is being a bit of a self-propagandist here. The idea that he’s only thinking long-term for the franchise with a few years left in his career is a little hard to believe. But it’s clear that the Warriors (and likely Draymond) value Kuminga, Podziemski and the young core that’s growing under Golden State’s established stars.

Warriors fans, it’s probably time to start thinking about alternatives for Markkanen.