Three years ago, trades of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell suggested the Utah Jazz were poised for an aggressive rebuild, but they sort of slow-played the teardown over the next two seasons.
In 2024-25, they chased losses with much less subtlety. And despite ending the campaign with the league’s best odds to land the No. 1 overall pick, they slid to fifth and still don’t have a young, surefire cornerstone.
That makes Lauri Markkanen an obvious source for trade speculation. At 28, he’s certainly not old, but he’s also not a prospect. And while he’s shown star talent in the NBA, he might be better suited as a high-end finisher than an offensive center of gravity.
Perhaps most importantly, by the time the rest of Utah’s young roster is ready to compete for a playoff spot, Markkanen is likely to be well into his 30s.
So, it should come as little surprise that as he dominates another EuroBasket tournament for the Finnish national team, longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein is publishing nuggets about a potential move.
“By month’s end he’ll be back in Salt Lake City with a team that went 17-65 last season and might not be any better this season. Is this what Markkanen signed up for when he inked a five-year contract extension with the Jazz worth nearly $240 million in August 2024?” Stein asked. “The 7-footer is entering his ninth NBA season and has still yet to play in a single playoff game. Count on Utah’s phones ringing often between now and February with trade interest in The Finnisher.”
The Los Angeles Lakers, still relatively fresh off their Luka Dončić coup, are one of the teams that should be making that call. Below, we have a deal that would land one of the league’s best receivers alongside L.A.’s new quarterback. And for good measure, we found a way to send some offense to the Miami Heat, too.
