The Utah Jazz have been a mediocre team for a while now. They have been towing the middle line, and have paid heavily for that strategy as the team has neither turned into a contender nor has it been able to capture a lottery spot in recent drafts. This has also caused concern regarding the franchise’s perennial star, Lauri Markkanen’s future. Unfortunately, things don’t seem to be working out between them.
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Senior NBA Insider Michael Scotto, during a recent appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio, revealed that Markkanen should become available for trade talks soon,
“The next big guy, not just the Warriors, but people around the league are monitoring is Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz. Utah has been trying to add pieces around him and improve the team. They tried to do it with Mikal Bridges..took a glance at Damian Lillard when he was available as well…To me eventually, they are going to be at a crossroads…”
"It's going to get to a needle moving point soon"
🔊 @MikeAScotto explains to @RickKamlaSports and @adaniels33 why Lauri Markkanen could be the next domino to fall pic.twitter.com/tW4I7oeDcp
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 1, 2024
Markkanen’s journey with the Jazz started in 2022 when the Cavs star was packaged alongside Ochai Agbaji, Collin Sexton, three first-round picks, and two pick swaps, to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Donovan Mitchell.
Since the trade, the Jazz star has only improved his performance, with the Finnish phenom averaging 23.2 points, 8.2 boards, and 2 dimes on 48% shooting last season.
But the Jazz organization has failed time and time again to surround Markkanen with winning pieces. This has caused some to speculate that the 27-year-old might now be available on the trade block as the Jazz and Markkanen have reached a crossroads in their journey together.
So far, Golden State has explored a potential trade with the Utah Jazz for Markkanen, as per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, on the latest episode of his Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective podcast. Commenting on the situation, Windy said,
“I think Lauri Markkanen from the Jazz is available on the trade market, they’re [Golden State] definitely investigating that. Whether or not they can make that work or not is to be seen.”
The ESPN Insider further revealed that the Warriors weren’t the only team interested in Markkanen, naming the San Antonio Spurs as another team looking to book the services of the 27-year-old sharpshooter this off-season. As of now, there has been no confirmation on the Jazz star wanting a trade or vice versa, but the future is looking inevitable as another season goes by with the Jazz attracting no major free-agency talent.
