At this point, it is no secret that the Warriors desperately want to add Lauri Markkanen to their roster. Ever since Klay Thompson departed, Joe Lacob and his crew have been trying to fill that void with another star player. However, they couldn’t pull off the Markkanen trade despite reportedly making a substantial offer to the Jazz, maybe because of Danny Ainge’s adamant demands.

Amid all the chaos and the Warriors hoping to finalize a deal with Ainge, medical expert Dr. Nirav Pandya gave Joe Lacob and Co. a harsh reality check about Markkanen, that might make them reconsider pursuing the seven-footer.

Lauri Markkanen’s major weakness revealed?

Looking at the trade from a medical perspective, Bay Area’s veteran injury analyst pointed out a major flaw in Markkanen’s game, highlighting his lack of availability over the course of his career, “With all the talk about Lauri Markkanen, it’s important to note the Warriors would be potentially trading for a player that has never played more than 70 games in his 7 seasons (and has played 55 or less games in 4 of them).”

Yes, as excited as Dub Nation is to see Lauri in the Warriors’ uniform, his health could be a major issue for them even if the deal goes through. While he has proven himself as an elite two-way player in Utah, averaging 24.5 points in the last two seasons, it might be of no use for the Warriors if he doesn’t stay healthy for the entire year. Just this season alone, he was limited to playing only 55 games as his season was cut short by a re-aggravated shoulder impingement.

Even when he was playing for the Bulls, Lauri was able to cross the sixty-game mark only once, that too in his rookie season. Surprisingly, that was also the year he played his most games in a season (68) even to this day. With a long history of being injury-prone, Dr. Pandya might be right in pointing it out as there is a chance that the Warriors might lose all their assets for nothing if Lauri continues to miss games in the Bay Area as well.

Warriors are still the front runners to get Markkanen

Although Markkanen’s injury history raises concerns, it might not stop the Warriors from pursuing the former All-Star. Why? Because he might be their best bet to get back to title contention right away as all the other big-name stars in free agency have already picked their destination. Moreover, it is believed that among all the possible suitors, the Warriors have presented the best offer to Danny Ainge in exchange for Lauri, which leaves only two possible outcomes, either he joins the Warriors or stays in Utah.

Due to his adamant demand of roping in young upcoming talent in the trade along with a stacked draft pick package, Ainge has reportedly already let go of several offers for Lauri, including one from the Sacramento Kings. However, the Warriors could lure Ainge by offering him a young star like Jonathan Kuminga or maybe Brandin Podziemski and break through his demands. In that case, Utah will get some assets to initiate their rebuild and the Warriors will get the superstar they need to pair with Stephen Curry. Do you think the Warriors should continue pursuing Markkanen despite his injury concerns?