Lauri Markkanen’s name has been thrown around in trade rumors of late, but if The Athletic’s Tony Jones is to be believed, the chances of him not being a member of the Utah Jazz next season seem slim. As per Jones, the Jazz would want quite a large haul to part with Markkanen.
“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,” Jones wrote. “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.”
That would be the Jazz pretty much saying he is off-limits. Markkanen is a very good player, who averaged 23.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game this season. The 26-year-old is not worth five first-round picks and a star-level talent, though, and really, only a handful of players are.
I think that part about Markkanen liking Utah is key here. If you think back to Donovan Mitchell’s time with the Jazz, it was frequently reported that he was interested in ending up on teams like the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat. It just felt like it was only a matter before Mitchell was gone and he ended up being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With Markkanen, there hasn’t really been a lot of buzz about him wanting to go somewhere. Some teams were linked with him, with the thought being that perhaps the Jazz might just tear it all down and go for a complete rebuild this offseason, after finishing 12th in the Western Conference with a 31-51 record.
If that’s not the case, though, the organization has no reason to let a star who likes being in Utah go. They can just steadily build around him in the coming years.
LeBron James Praised Lauri Markkanen
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the teams that have been linked with Markkanen. He would be a terrific fit next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and it turns out the NBA’s all-time leading scorer is a big fan of him as well. LeBron called Markkanen one of his favorites.
“He’s one of my favorites. He’s been a LeBron supporter for a long time. He wears my shoes, till this year, and then Nike came out with something. We got some talks to do, in the Nike world. But I love that guy, he’s so good.”
Could James potentially tempt Markkanen to want to come to LA? Maybe. It seems very likely at this point, that LeBron will be re-signing with the Lakers in the offseason. The franchise is also expected to make some moves and someone like Markkanen would be a clear upgrade over the likes of Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt.
It was reported earlier this year, that the Lakers would be willing to trade Austin Reaves for Markkanen. Would the Jazz view Reaves as a star-level talent? If they do and if the Lakers throw in some first-round draft picks, then maybe this deal could go through.
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