The Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz were surprise winners last season, but are headed in opposite directions as we head into 2024. For that reason, a Lauri Markkanen trade between the two franchises makes a lot of sense. Here is the Kings trade offer they must send to the Jazz for the dynamic forward.
The Kings took the league by storm last season. Long known as the perennial losers of the NBA over the last couple of decades, the Kings erased that notion on the back of the league's best offense. But they want to build off of that success and sustain it. Anybody can make a playoff run, but it's harder to make multiple deep runs, and that's what the Kings want to do.
However, there's been a little bit of slippage this season with the Kings. Last season, they posted a net rating of +2.6 points per 100 possessions. This season, that number has dropped to +1.1 points per 100 possessions. That's why they are aggressive in the trade market.
Sacramento has already been linked as a potential destination for the Chicago Bulls' Zach LaVine by Shams Charania of The Athletic and other outlets. But he isn't the only potentially available star the Kings have their eye on. Not only are the Kings keeping tabs on the Raptors' Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, but they've been mentioned as a potential suitor for Utah's Lauri Markkanen by Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports.
Fischer does couch this report by saying Markkanen has “emerged as a fascinating, albeit unlikely trade candidate” before the February trade deadline, but he goes on to say that Utah is not making Markkanen untouchable. It would take a lot of draft picks for the Jazz to move on from Markkanen, but a trade would make sense after a 10-17 start. The question becomes: what's a trade that would make sense for both the Kings and Jazz?
Trade: Utah Jazz trades Lauri Markkanen and Kris Dunn to Sacramento Kings for Davion Mitchell, Harrison Barnes, Colby Jones, and 3 Unprotected First Round Picks (2026, 2028, 2030)
Why Sacramento does the trade
Sacramento is not going to trade Keegan Murray, or at least they shouldn't. Any notion that the Kings would trade Murray got quelled quickly when he went for 47 points on 16-23 shooting and 12-13(!) from three.
If Murray isn't going to be in trade talks, that means the Kings have to pay up a ton of draft picks to snag Markkanen away from Utah. The Kings are down their first-round pick this season as a result of the trade that brought Kevin Huerter to Sacramento, but they own all of their other future first-round picks. Perhaps the Kings would have to add future pick swaps as well, but three first-round picks are a great starting point.
What makes a Lauri Markkanen trade so feasible for the Kings as well is that Lauri Markkanen makes only $17 million this season. All Sacramento has to do to make the money work is put Harrison Barnes, who also makes $17 million, in the trade, and the money works. But the Kings would have to put more in the deal than just Barnes.
Davion Mitchell is a former top-ten pick and, while he hasn't exactly lived up to that billing so far in his career, he'd make for a great pairing in the Jazz's backcourt with fellow former Baylor Bear Keyonte George. Colby Jones, who was regarded as a first-round talent coming out of Xavier but fell to the second round, could be a really nice backup to either and could appeal to the Jazz.
Losing Mitchell would be a blow but the Kings could cushion that blow by getting back Kris Dunn, who is one of the best defensive guards in the NBA.
Why Utah does the trade
This might not be the best package the Jazz could get for Markkanen, but it is a satisfactory one. Getting three unprotected first-round picks is valuable no matter where it comes from. While Monte McNair has done a fantastic job as general manager of the Kings, Sacramento is always one Vivek Ranadive decision away from mayhem, and betting against Ranadive has always been a fruitful one for those who have done so.
Utah should also be able to flip Barnes for another first-round pick if they were to go through with this deal. While Keyonte George is learning how to manage an NBA team on the fly, Davion Mitchell can help him do that and Jones can as well.
The Jazz are also 10-17 and in the long game of a rebuild. Markkanen is already 26 years old and in the second-to-last year of his contract. Markkanen might be on another team by the time the Jazz are ready to compete. Getting picks for him now at the peak of his value is not a bad idea at all.
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