Utah management has been clear from the start they intend to re-sign Lauri Markkanen and keep him as part of the team’s core going forward. However, the 27-year-old All-Star forward is in his prime and not really on the Jazz’s rebuilding timeline, and the expectation in league circles is that Markkanen will get traded within the next year.
Aug. 6 is the big day coming up in the Markkanen trade saga. That is the first day the Utah Jazz are allowed to offer a contract extension to Markkanen — and the day he has to sign it to be eligible to be traded the February trade deadline (there is a six-month trade moratorium on a player after he signs an extension).
Conversations with league sources at Summer League in Las Vegas made it clear the expectation is the Jazz will re-sign Markkanen to a massive contract on Aug. 6, and the trade talk will die down until the deadline. While he could get moved that day, the expectation is that Markkanen trades will be a topic for next offseason. Maybe things shift in the next two weeks, but don’t bet on it. The sides seem pretty set on their positions.
