NBA rumors: Lauri Markkanen trade suitors hit with harsh Jazz reality

07/07/2024 03:48 PM

The Utah Jazz have many teams around the league who were looking to acquire power forward Lauri Markkanen singing the blues. That’s because general manager Justin Zanik and executive Danny Ainge have been making life difficult for those teams in trade negotiations, pushing things to the point where now there is a growing belief around the league that the Jazz have been posturing all summer, operating from a position where only an unreasonably generous offer would be able to pry away Markkanen from them.

Prior to shifting their focus to 14-year veteran DeMar DeRozan, the Sacramento Kings appeared to be hell-bent on acquiring Lauri Markkanen from Utah, adding the 27-year-old forward to a young core that includes De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, and Keegan Murray. Their picks-based offer was reportedly a strong one, one that was so substantial that team sources believed it was going to be good enough to get the deal done. With hopes of getting the deal done in a reasonable amount of time, the Kings gave the Jazz a deadline. And that’s apparently when Danny Ainge stepped in, and doing his best Lee Corso impersonation, said “not so fast!”

“Utah didn't meet it,” writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “There's growing skepticism leaguewide that Jazz executive Danny Ainge will actually move on any Markkanen deal. So the Kings pivoted quickly to DeRozan, getting wind he'd actually have interest and then hitting the gas pedal.”

This leaves one to wonder what the Jazz will end up doing with Lauri Markkanen, and what the plan actually is for the 2024-25 season. Hanging onto Markkanen for the 2023-24 season made some sense… he was coming off of his first All-Star season and with a low-end draft class coming into the league in the summer of 2024, there wasn’t too much incentive for Utah to tank away their season. In the end, they did anyway. Utah was a respectable 27-33 at the end of February. Over the final 22 games of the season, they went 4-18. Markkanen suited up just five times in those final 22 games.

Now? As teams are already jockeying for pole position in the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery, removing Markkanen from this Jazz roster would give Utah a major leg up in the In a Stupor for Cooper sweepstakes. But surely, Danny Ainge wouldn’t just give Markkanen away for slightly better Draft Lottery odds and a handful of future picks, especially when thus far, everything Markkanen has said and done indicates he could be willing to hang around in Utah for the long haul. Earlier this past week, The Athletic’s Tony Jones reported, “Markkanen and his family are comfortable in Utah and amenable to Utah's plans for a potential contract renegotiation and extension once that window opens later this summer.”

Will Lauri Markkanen stick around with the Utah Jazz for the long haul?

The fact that Lauri Markkanen won’t be eligible for a four-year extension until August 6th has been another factor in why trade negotiations haven’t gone anywhere. NBA insider Marc Stein reported that because Markkanen could become a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 season, it’s been difficult for the Jazz to find a trade offer worth strongly considering.

“It obviously complicates Jazz efforts to get a trade package in return for Markkanen on the level of Brooklyn’s haul for Mikal Bridges when Markkanen is not under team control for more than a season and when his salary is relatively low,” Stein wrote in his The Stein Line Substack. “They have a much better chance to command a Bridges-style offer filled with future draft picks like New York agreed to furnish the Nets if Markkanen, 27, is signed to an extension.”

The issue here is that Utah would need to wait six months before trading Markkanen once they sign him to an extension. The 2025 NBA Trade Deadline is on February 6th, which all but guarantees that Utah wouldn’t be able to trade Markkanen until next summer, which in the end, could end up working in their favor.

Let’s assume that even with Lauri Markkanen on their roster, the Jazz’s 1st round pick could still fall within the top ten and therefore not be conveyed to Oklahoma City. At that point, the Jazz could potentially package Markkanen and picks to move up in the draft… a draft that is widely expected to be among the best in recent years. Or, if the Lottery balls are kind to them, the Jazz could potentially land one of the top prospects, keep Markkanen for the long-term, and then attempt to use future draft assets to build a contending roster around their top-tier rookie and Finnish star.

The bottom line is, as usual, Danny Ainge finds himself in a very advantageous position.

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