Jazz Will Command Big Haul For Lauri Markkanen

The Utah Jazz are the latest team to be shopping one of their stars, with it looking increasingly likely that they will trade NBA All-Star Lauri Markkanen .

But, according to league insider Mark Medina, it’s going to take a big package for the Jazz to consider actually moving on from the 7-footer, where a deal will likely have to include ‘win-now players’ and ‘additional future assets’.

Still in Rebuild Mode and About To Blow It Up Again

Reportedly shopping Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler

In light of Klay Thompson ’s move to the Dallas Mavericksto start free agency, the off-season dominos are beginning to fall, and at a rapid rate.

Now, the Jazz are thought to be joining the party, with them having reportedly been welcoming calls for both veteran guard, Jordan Clarkson , and second-year center Walker Kessler , with the latter likely to draw interest from multiple teams around the league.

But, they also appear to be gauging the market for Lauri Markkanen, after having been so adamant that he was not available on the market just a few months ago.

The 25-year-old, who has spent two seasons with the Jazz following his trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Donovan Mitchell trade, has drawn a plethora of interest in the few days since free agency began, with the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs the first two teams to be reported to be eyeing the 2023 All-Star.

With the Warriors having lost Thompson, Markkanen would slot in effortlessly into the Warriors’ well-known small-ball lineup, and his outside shooting threat could also help fill the huge void left by the departed half of the Splash Brothers duo.

For the Spurs, he would join one of the NBA’s hottest commodities in Victor Wembanyama , while he would also be able to hang out wide with free-agent acquisition Chris Paul having been brought in to run the offense from the point.

According to Yahoo! Sports’ Jake Fischer, the Minnesota Timberwolves (perhaps considering packaging a deal involving Karl-Anthony Towns ?) and the Sacramento Kings are the latest teams to express their interest in the Finland-born star, but it is expected that for Sacramento to negotiate a deal, it would likely take parting ways with Keegan Murray to move the needle.

However, Fischer’s report further states that Utah is still holding out hope of being able to renegotiate and come to an extension agreement with Markkanen, though they are not eligible to do so until August, and by then, it simply might be too late.

Jazz ‘Aren’t Trying To Do a Total Teardown’

Medina believes that the Jazz front office raised the bar with their return haul when they traded Rudy Gobert back in 2022, which involved them receiving four players, of which Kessler is the only one who still remains on the roster, as well as four first-round picks and a 2026 first-round pick swap.

Entering His Prime

Averaged 20+ PPG for second consecutive season

As a 7-footer that can also space the floor, Markkanen has a highly sought-after skill-set, and it has once again been on full display since his move to the Jazz just two seasons ago.

While his numbers were slightly down on his career-high year the season prior, the 27-year-old still put together a solid campaign, in which he averaged 23.2 points – the only Jazz member to surpass 20 points per contest – shooting at 48.0 percent from the field, and 39.9 percent from distance, as well as grabbing 8.2 rebounds, the second-most on the team behind John Collins (8.5) in 55 appearances.

While his size would appear to suggest that he would mainly operate inside the paint on offense, Markkanen’s shooting numbers give the real indication of just how much he spreads the floor.

During the 2023-24 season, Markkanen attempted 3.7 field goal attempts inside the restricted area, which he converted at 69.4 percent efficiency, and when he stepped out of the restricted area, but still in the paint, he attempted 3.4 shots per game, which he scored on 45.2 percent of them.

But, he actually attempted the majority of his shots from behind the three-point line, and mainly above the break, in which he hoisted up an average of 6.5 attempts per game – by far the most of anyone on Utah’s roster and ultimately highlighting his deep-range threat – seeing success 39.2 percent of the time.

While he didn’t attempt many jumpers from the mid-range, only 1.1 per contest, he still knocked his shots down with relative efficiency, in which he made 42.4 percent of his attempts across the course of the regular season, the second-most among his Jazz teammates who averaged one or more attempts from the mid-range per game.

It appears that Markkanen is only really beginning to scratch the surface on what he could achieve in the league, and with the 27-year-old only really at the beginning of his prime, he could be a devastatingly good player for years to come.

As such, it is hardly surprising that he has already, and will likely continue, to generate so much interest on the trade market, with teams gearing up to battle it out to sign the All-Star big.

He is certainly the name to be watching out for as the off-season begins to further ramp up.