With a number of teams making a hard run at Lauri Markkanen, the Utah Jazz are between a rock and a hard place.
Named an All-Star for the first time in 2022-23, Markkanen’s experienced a career resurgence in Salt Lake City. His volume scoring, marksmanship from deep, and defensive growth have turned him from a bust to a building block, the former No. 7 pick excelling under head coach Will Hardy. Yet, with the Jazz nowhere near championship contention, his prime may be wasted in Utah.
“In addition to Golden State, Sacramento and San Antonio have been the two other teams characterized by league figures with knowledge of the situation as strong possible suitors for Markkanen at this point. For the Kings to land Markkanen, NBA personnel believe the Jazz would require Sacramento to part with Keegan Murray, and that might leave other trade options like Brandon Ingram as a more palatable outcome for the Kings. Minnesota has shown interest in Markkanen as well,” per Yahoo Sports insider Jake Fischer.
With the Jazz’s offer for Mikal Bridges passed up in favor of the New York Knicks’ pick-heavy package, one target that they hoped could join a Markkanen-led core came off the books. Dejounte Murray’s trade to the New Orleans Pelicans shortened their wishlist. Then came Paul George’s eye-popping decision to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, an epiphenomenon that exacerbated the problem.
West Contenders Enter Lauri Markkanen Sweepstakes
Unless the Jazz want to trade for Knicks forward Julius Randle or Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, there aren’t many All-Star caliber guards available. With that being said, Utah doesn’t appear to have much interest in either Randle or Ingram. As a result, the Jazz find themselves in the position not of buyers this offseason, but sellers.
To that point, myriad teams are gazing at Markkanen longingly.
This has recently led to the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs making offers for the 7-foot-0 finisher. Though it’s unknown what either team has offered, the Warriors are able to provide Utah with immense cap relief. In comparison, San Antonio’s draft capital allows them to offer the Jazz quite a few first round picks.
What Are the Kings, Wolves Chances?
The Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves have also made overtures for Markkanen.
2022 No. 4 pick Keegan Murray may put trade talks in a holding pattern, but he’s arguably Sacramento’s most valuable trade asset this side of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. Should the Timberwolves make an offer, it would likely include one of their starting frontcourt players. The youngest among them is lockdown defender Jaden McDaniels. Four-time All-Star, Karl-Anthony Towns, gets paid more than anyone on the team. Four-time Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert, has been challenged by the changing NBA.
Ultimately, both teams could put together an interesting offer for Markkanen. Nonetheless, it’s possible that neither finds the right one.
Los Angeles Lakers Interested?
The Los Angeles Lakers presumably have interest in a Markkanen trade as well as they look for a third star.
With intriguing but inconsistent D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura supporting LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they could look to move either player for Markkanen. The Jazz would almost certainly prefer three-year pro Austin Reaves though, putting the Lakers in a similar position as the Kings.
