The Utah Jazz may be playing at a much better level as of late, but the writing remains on the wall with regards to their status as a selling team come the trade deadline. After all, with a 15-19 record, the Jazz still sit way outside the playoff picture, and a cursory look at their roster shows that they don't have enough firepower on either end of the floor to mount a strong push for even a spot in the play-in tournament.
Thus, it remains likely that the Jazz will entertain trade offers for some of their most valuable veteran pieces, including Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, Kelly Olynyk, and John Collins. But for the purposes of this exercise, only Markkanen's potential availability will be put under the microscope.
Markkanen broke out in a major way during the 2022-23 season, earning Most Improved Player honors for his impressive improvements as the centerpiece of the Donovan Mitchell trade. For a while, it looked like the Finnisher would be a long-term keeper for the franchise, sort of the Jazz's version of what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is to the nascent Oklahoma City Thunder.
Lauri Markkanen's skillset, however, makes him more of a high-end number two option on a contending team. This makes him quite the attractive trade target for contending teams looking to take their championship ambitions from dreams to reality.
The Jazz, however, don't exactly have a pressing need to trade Markkanen now. He remains under contract until the end of the 2024-25 season anyway. Thus, this could be the perfect time for them to try and ask for a huge trade return from a team that senses blood in the water in their pursuit of a championship.
Here are a few unrealistic trade packages the Jazz must demand from teams that have interest in Lauri Markkanen.
The Jazz squeeze the Thunder
Jazz receive: Jalen Williams, Davis Bertans, Tre Mann, Aleksej Pokusevski, 2024 LAC first-round pick
Thunder receive: Lauri Markkanen, Simone Fontecchio, Kris Dunn
There is no way the Thunder will rock the boat this hard, seeing as they're currently the second seed in the stacked Western Conference. OKC's young core is humming, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the conductor of the Thunder orchestra, Jalen Williams is also quite a perfect fit for a contending team in today's NBA. He's a 6'5 wing who can guard bigger forwards, provide secondary shot-creation, and space the floor at a high level.
Williams is one of the Thunder's untouchable pieces alongside Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren. No matter how much convincing the Jazz do, OKC will keep the man out of Santa Clara; that's how important he is to the team.
But trades are a battle of leverage, and it's not like the Jazz are dangling an asset with little to no value. Lauri Markkanen is quite valuable as well. He is a 7'0 wing whose size alone gives him the tools to be impactful on defense, and he has more of a mastery of three-level scoring. He is a much better and much versatile scorer than Jalen Williams is, and an inside-out duo of Holmgren and Markkanen will cause nightmares for opposing coaches.
Markkanen also gives OKC some much-needed size as they go along in the postseason; one of the team's main weaknesses is rebounding, and the Finnisher gives the team a huge presence in the paint to try and gain more control over the boards. Markkanen is currently averaging nearly five more rebounds than Williams; a five-rebound boost gives OKC a top-five rebounding outfit, a huge improvement from their current rank of 28th at the time of writing.
Given the Thunder's expected interest in Markkanen should he become available, don't be too surprised if the Jazz start negotiations by asking for the second-year forward out of Santa Clara, especially when the 27-year old forward could take the team's contending ambitions to the next level.
The Finnisher goes to Atlanta
Jazz receive: Dejounte Murray, AJ Griffin, Saddiq Bey, Kobe Bufkin, 2024 SAC first-round pick
Hawks receive: Lauri Markkanen, Kelly Olynyk, Kris Dunn
The Atlanta Hawks' backcourt pairing of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray has run its course. The two simply aren't a good fit alongside each other; they don't complement each other well enough, with Young and Murray continuing to provide suboptimal value off the ball whenever one does the offensive orchestration.
Murray, for as good of a defensive reputation as he has, hasn't been as impactful on that end of the floor as well. Thus, to hear the Hawks reportedly be interested in dealing him away isn't too big of a shock.
Now, the Jazz could look at Dejounte Murray as a centerpiece of a Lauri Markkanen trade with the hopes of flipping him. Murray has reportedly been drawing a plethora of interest, including from the Los Angeles Lakers, so surely Utah can cash in on him for even more assets.
For the Hawks, Markkanen would give Trae Young the best teammate he has ever had in his career; Young has been on a roll as of late, and yet his team has rarely won — Markkanen's arrival would change that. Markkanen is a much more active mover away from the ball, he has much better gravity as well than Murray, and he is a big man, so there is natural synergy between his and Young's play styles.
Losing Kobe Bufkin wouldn't be too appealing for the Hawks, as he hasn't had a fair shake with the team yet. The Hawks also reportedly kept him out of trade talks for Pascal Siakam this past offseason. But in terms of on-court fit, there may not be a star available in the trade market that would be a better fit for what Quin Snyder is trying to do than Lauri Markkanen. Kelly Olynyk would be a helpful trade return as well, as he can play the four, move the basketball, and space the floor to give the Hawks even more versatility in the frontcourt.
Rockets continue win-now push
Jazz receive: Jalen Green, Cam Whitmore, Victor Oladipo, 2024 BKN first-round pick, 2027 HOU first-round pick, three second-round picks
Rockets receive: Lauri Markkanen, Simone Fontecchio
This season feels like a crossroads for Jalen Green's career as a member of the Houston Rockets organization. There remains plenty of belief from the team in Green's abilities, but it seems like the team is outgrowing the 21-year old guard. With the addition of Fred VanVleet, Green needed to acclimate to more of a support role, and he doesn't quite have the most well-rounded game to pull the transition off.
As a result, Green has lost minutes, with head coach Ime Udoka opting to roll with Tari Eason and even Aaron Holiday during nights where Green just doesn't have it.
With the team's bid to win now in full swing, can the Rockets, by some chance, find themselves in the trade sweepstakes for Lauri Markkanen?
Markkanen would give the Rockets a jumbo frontcourt alongside Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun, and he gives the them someone who excels on and off the ball. He could exploit mismatches and space the floor at a much more consistent level than Jalen Green.
Now, for the Jazz, it's up to the organization if they believe they can bring out the best in the 21-year old guard. He is only in his third season, after all. Green has shown flashes of being an unstoppable offensive force, and the Jazz can afford to give him the time to develop that he has lost with the Rockets. Cam Whitmore could see some action as well so he can try and carry over his impressive Summer League performances into the real deal.
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