The Utah Jazz and All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen are on the verge of agreeing to a massive, long-term contract extension, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. However, with August 6 marking the first day he is eligible to sign a new extension, Markkanen is expected to wait until Wednesday, August 7, at the earliest to sign a new deal with Utah in order to be untradeable for the entirety of the 2024-25 NBA season.
Markkanen has long heard his name mentioned in trade rumors, specifically being linked to the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs. Ultimately, neither team reached the asking price set by the Jazz for the Finnish star, and Utah was never truly looking to move on from Markkanen.
Instead, executive Danny Ainge and the Jazz front office were hearing out offers for Markkanen in order to get a better idea of what his value on the open market was looking like.
This new deal that Markkanen is expected to agree to as early as Wednesday will be a renegotiation-and-extend situation where the 7-footer will see his $18 million contract for the 2024-25 season increase by way of Utah's $33 million in cap space. As a result, Markkanen will be under contract for the next five years on a deal that is valued at over $200 million in total.
The most important aspect of this new contract extension that Markkanen is expected to sign after Tuesday, the first day that he is eligible to negotiate with the Jazz, is that the team won't be able to bring up his name in trade conversations until next offseason. Markkanen has expressed interest in remaining with the Jazz, and he will remain the face of Utah's rebuild.
Lauri Markkanen no longer involved in trade talks
Since the start of free agency, Markkanen has been the most pursued player on the trade market. Although trade talks never progressed to the point where the Jazz seriously contemplated trading Markkanen, the Warriors came in with an aggressive offer that included recent first-round pick Moses Moody, multiple first-round picks, and pick swaps. The Jazz, who made it clear that they wanted All-Rookie standout guard Brandin Podziemski included in such dialogue, never received an offer that they felt presented enough value.
The Warriors never included Podziemski in trade talks with the Jazz, league sources told ClutchPoints, and former seventh overall pick Jonathan Kuminga was also held out of these discussions pertaining to Markkanen and the Jazz. The two teams never engaged in serious conversations during and after NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, sources said.
Markkanen, 27, was traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Utah Jazz in 2022 when Donovan Mitchell was sent to the Cavs. In his short time with the Jazz, Markkanen has grown into one of the best scoring forwards in the league, averaging 24.5 points per game while shooting 39.5 percent from three-point range in Salt Lake City. The Jazz star earned All-Star honors and the 2022-23 NBA Most Improved Player award during his first season in Utah.
Despite their current status as a rebuilding team in the Western Conference, the Jazz are confident in Markkanen's abilities to lead the organization back to the postseason. Now, the question becomes what moves the Jazz will make next in order to surround the 7-foot star with the firepower needed to rise in the West.
Brandon Ingram and Zach LaVine remain two All-Star-proven players that remain on the trade block that the Jazz can consider pursuing to pair with Markkanen. Utah can also continue to shift their focus to player development, as they have drafted six players over the last two seasons that all possess long-term potential. The Jazz also own a couple of 2025 first-round draft picks, which could present a lot of value given how talented the 2025 NBA Draft class projects to be.
A new deal between the Jazz and Markkanen will not be agreed to on Tuesday, meaning he will be ineligible to be traded during the 2024-25 season. A formal announcement on a new deal is expected in the coming days.
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