Report: Warriors eyed PG13, Markkanen pairing in offseason blockbuster

It was no secret the Warriors wanted to make a big move — or two — this offseason.

Yes, Golden State attempted to acquire Paul George from the Los Angeles Clippers before the veteran forward eventually opted out and signed a massive contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. And yes, the Warriors also attempted to acquire sharpshooting 7-foot forward Lauri Markkanen before he signed a lucrative contract extension, eliminating any chance of a trade before or during the 2024-25 NBA season.

However, it appears there was more to the Warriors’ offseason plan than met the eye.

Golden State not only pursued George and Markkanen, but it wanted to acquire both — yes, both — players in what initially was the organization’s “Plan A” this offseason, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater reported Tuesday in his feature story on Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy.

“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,” 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.

Bringing in not only George or Markkanen, but both stars would have changed the Warriors’ roster and organization drastically.

“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 speculates that had the Warriors landed George from the Clippers, perhaps they would have been willing to “unload everything” to meet Ainge’s reported steep Markkanen trade demands. However, without George, it appeared Golden State was not comfortable with Utah’s asking price.

“Mike is very sensible,” Kerr shared with Slater. “He just said to me, ‘It doesn’t make sense to sell your entire future for a team that you think can be pretty good, but isn’t awesome, right?’ Especially at this stage with the ages of our stars.”

While neither move ultimately worked out, a starting five featuring some combination of at least Curry, George, Markkanen and Green certainly would have made for a lethal lineup and likely would have propelled Golden State back into championship contention.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, their Plan A — or Plan B — never came to fruition.

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