The San Antonio Spurs saw their 2024-25 season meet an early end from a competitive perspective. A season-ending injury to Victor Wembanyama and midseason acquisition De’Aaron Fox guaranteed the franchise would take the long view on their rebuild and make a postseason push next season. The franchise has innumerable options in front of them, as their assets pool can help them land any star they want.
While they could wait and see how Fox and Wembanyama perform as a duo with an offseason together, the franchise could also take a more aggressive route. Instead of being left behind by other rising contenders like the OKC Thunder and Houston Rockets in the West, the Spurs can target a big splash and finally get the Utah Jazz to part with Lauri Markkanen.
Trade Details
San Antonio Spurs Receive: Lauri Markkanen, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk,
Utah Jazz Receive: Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes, Malaki Branham, 2025 First-Round Pick (ATL), 2028 First-Round Pick (SAS)
This deal sees the Jazz receive a muted draft pick package compared to what they could’ve gotten last season. However, Markkanen was on a $17 million contract then and was coming off back-to-back All-Star seasons. He’s had a down season with the Jazz this year, and his new supermax contract will dock his price to one solid player, one potential young star, an expiring contract, and valuable picks.
Lauri Markkanen Adds Another Offensive Dimension To San Antonio
The Spurs are building a competitive two-way squad, which invariably will see games end with Fox or Wembanyama as the prime offensive option. However, both are faced with a different set of challenges in those situations. Fox is a below-average shooter, while Wembanyama is still building out his offensive repertoire to not be restricted by defenses targeting his lack of strength.
Lauri Markkanen averaged 19.0 points and 5.9 rebounds this season. His year was greatly disturbed by a very intentional tank from the Jazz, sidelining his winning contributions from the past season to maximize the usage and development of younger stars. Doing this in the first year of a supermax contract is interesting, with Markkanen clearly not getting the competitiveness he hopes for.
He would be the perfect forward next to Wembanyama, being able to create more space on the court with his excellent outside shooting. He’s a seven-footer and active on the boards, being able to take some of the banging Wembanyama has been subjected to. Moving Jeremy Sochan to the three to complement this would give the Spurs a towering and intimidating frontcourt that would be hard to beat.
Jazz Maximize Their Return And Continue Their Rebuild
It’s important to remember that the Jazz never really expected Markkanen to be the player he developed into. Despite the underlying potential being there, he was very much just a throw-in from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Donovan Mitchell trade. Now, they could expand that package further by flipping Markkanen into a bevvy of assets, most crucially, Devin Vassell.
Vassell is averaging 16.5 points and 4.0 rebounds this season. He’s a rising three-and-D forward on a five-year contract, so the Jazz can have him under contract as they transition from rebuilding to contention. He’ll be able to maximize the talents of guards like Keyontae George while being a highly usable yet low-maintenance star in his role.
Harrison Barnes has had a great season with the Spurs, averaging 12.1 points and 3.7 rebounds, but he’d be a great veteran on the Jazz bench as an expiring contract. Malki Branham averaged 4.5 points this season, but the young guard could have an upside with some years of development.
Adding a presumed 2025 lottery pick with the Hawks draft pick alongside parting with their own 2028 pick alongside three real NBA players makes up a sizable package.
A Championship Core Takes Shape
The Spurs will be making aggressive moves up the NBA’s pecking order with this deal. Markkanen revamped their style of play by adding a high-level forward to complement Wembanyama and Fox. His ability to thrive off the ball and impact the game with his shooting and rebounding will make him a terrific addition to the squad, with him likely being their best scorer from outside the perimeter.
The Spurs retain other talented players alongside a treasure trove of draft assets they could move to further bolster their core. This would be the first step toward contention, ensuring the Spurs contend among the top in the West for the foreseeable future, with Fox and Markkanen leading the squad alongside Wembanyama.
The Jazz will likely land a new star prospect atop the 2025 NBA Draft, with Cooper Flagg being the dream. They were unlikely to commit to the entire duration of Markkanen’s contract without adjusting their core, with this deal giving them another piece to work into their plans and draft picks which could net great results.
