Lauri Markkanen has emerged as one of the NBA’s premier forwards in his two years with the Jazz. The Finland international has emerged as an All-Star and is on one of the best contracts in the NBA, prompting teams like the Lakers, Knicks, and Heat to reportedly circle Lauri as one of their top trade targets this summer, with the Jazz expected to listen to offers, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy.
“They’ll listen. They always listen. Danny’s reputation is overblown. He wants a championship team, he wants to do what Sam Presti has done in Oklahoma City. He knows he is a long way off still. They’ll be tough and the price will be high but that’s how it should be.”
Markkanen averaged 23.2 points and 8.2 rebounds on 48.0% from the field and 39.9% from three last season while appearing in 55 games.
The Jazz spent the first half of the season as a competitive Play-In team, even threatening the top-six seeds around December 2023, but trades to weaken their roster in the winter led to them refocusing on tanking and landing the 10th pick this season.
Markkanen is making $18 million next season, one of the best budget contracts in the NBA given his production. He’s a free agent next season.
The Lakers have been scouring the market for a third star and even we have previously suggested they look at Markkanen as that piece instead of a guard like Trae Young. But if the Jazz set a high price for Lauri, the Lakers likely won’t be able to win a bidding war or possibly even match what the Jazz want. They can trade three first-round picks on 2024 Draft Night to make a deal come true.
The Heat are one of the most leveraged teams when it comes to future draft assets being gone, with the team having two first-round picks to trade this summer. They acquired Terry Rozier with a pick in the winter, but a possible move to swap Duncan Robinson and one of their young players with picks for Markkanen could be useful.
The Knicks would be the most tangible destination out of the three with 11 tradeable first-round picks they have to throw at the situation. They have heaps of mid-sized contracts for valuable players as well, so they could possibly match the player price while having sufficient draft picks to fill out the package.
What Do The Jazz Want For Markkanen?
Acquiring a player like Markkanen won’t be easy. He’s the standout asset of a trade that saw them lose their franchise player, so the team will be motivated to build him into a franchise icon as well.
Due to how highly the Jazz view the sweet-shooting seven-footer, he could command a price that includes four to five picks and a star-level talent.
“In a big picture, Markkanen’s value to the Jazz is so great that it’s going to take an offer that is probably not going to come to pry him from the Jazz. Something like four or five first-round picks, and a star-level talent coming over… He doesn’t need to dominate the basketball in order to accumulate these numbers. And most importantly, he’s a star-level player who likes being in Utah. The Jazz fully intend to build around him. They intend to sign him to a long-term deal.”
If the Jazz stick to this price, they likely won’t find Lauri a trade partner this season. The 27-year-old might be content playing for a massive contract extension with the Jazz instead of taking a bet on a new franchise, so unless he forces his way out, Danny Ainge and the Jazz will be willing to play the slow game with him.
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