Thompson’s decision will have ripple effects across the league, where much of the mid-level market is full of wings who were waiting for Paul George, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Thompson to slide off the board before determining their own landing spots. The Lakers, sources said, still hold an affinity for veteran scorer DeMar DeRozan after Los Angeles finished as the runner-up for Thompson. The Lakers were aware that, thanks to the $16 million traded player exception Dallas created by moving Tim Hardaway Jr. to Detroit, this three-year, $50 million mark for Thompson was what they had to compete against.
The Jazz are indeed welcoming calls on Markkanen, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Perhaps Utah will ultimately exact a similar offseason to that of Brooklyn, where the Nets once envisioned adding star-level talent alongside Mikal Bridges before determining their best course of action was to enter a rebuild — thanks to a massive haul from New York. The Jazz, as previously reported at Yahoo Sports, were looking into trading for Bridges, held conversations with Atlanta about both Dejounte Murray and Trae Young, sources said, and were working to assemble a group around Markkanen that could have possibly drawn George’s eye.
This latest round of Markkanen trade conversations could very well just be the Jazz trying to gather information from interested teams, or an effort to solicit some kind of exorbitant offer akin to the five first-round picks, plus an additional unprotected pick swap from the Knicks for Bridges. The Jazz have so far indicated to various parties around the NBA they would still like to renegotiate and extend Markkanen when the two sides become eligible to do so in August, sources said, and that listening to offers for Markkanen is just part of doing good business.
That good business, though, leaves the door open just like Brooklyn did for Bridges to waltz across the East River. In addition to Golden State, Sacramento and San Antonio have been the two other teams characterized by league figures with knowledge of the situation as strong possible suitors for Markkanen at this point. For the Kings to land Markkanen, NBA personnel believe the Jazz would require Sacramento to part with Keegan Murray, and that might leave other trade options like Brandon Ingram as a more palatable outcome for the Kings. Minnesota has shown interest in Markkanen as well, sources said. Philadelphia never appeared to place real attention on Markkanen throughout the Sixers’ long approach of finding a third star to slot between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
More Klay Thompson fallout
For Dallas, if Thompson can stabilize his outside shooting and stay on the floor as he approaches his 35th birthday with a long history of significant injuries, this move marks another inventive victory for Nico Harrison’s Mavericks front office. From acquiring Kyrie Irving at a relative discount at the 2023 trade deadline, to this deadline’s double dip of Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington that helped net a run to the NBA Finals, to Dallas’ minimum-contract signing of Derrick Jones Jr. that surely aided that trip to the championship round, Harrison has proven his mettle. And even though a change of representation from Jones complicated his free agency, the Mavericks swiftly signed one of their top replacement targets in former Pelicans wing Naji Marshall.
So for the Mavericks, who once appeared closing in on a revamped wing group that featured Jones Jr. and Caldwell-Pope — via trade, before KCP opted for free agency — Dallas was able to turn Tim Hardaway Jr. and Josh Green into Thompson and Quentin Grimes, while landing Marshall on a three-year, $27 million deal as well.
How the Lakers recover from losing Thompson will be a fascinating subplot in its own right. While LeBron James has indicated a willingness to take less salary, sources said, in order to help Los Angeles add more talent to a roster that fell in the first round of the playoffs, time seems to be running out for how long James is willing to wait before securing his next deal. For the Lakers to bring on DeRozan, Los Angeles may have to work with a third team to offload some salary, such as D’Angelo Russell or Gabe Vincent, sources said. The Nets have been open to welcoming Russell back to Barclays Center since this past trade deadline, sources said.
