Trade Lauri Markkanen? Rivals expect the opposite
Ahead of this year’s NBA deadline, many expect the Utah Jazz to make a movehowever, will it be one of the trade rumors involving Lauri Markkanen? Amid a 6-13 record to start the regular season, the Jazz have lost seven of their last 10 games, leading many to assume no player on the roster under .500 is allowed.
Still, Markkanen has grown into a pillar of what the Jazz can do build around your future in the competitive Western Conference, according to NBA insider Mark Stein.
“Utah is one of those seven clubs under .500 in the West, but what you keep hearing about the Jazz on the NBA grapevine is that they long to be more competitive again. They don’t want to be down there with all the other tankers,” Stein reported. “They miss being a factor in the Western Conference, which hasn’t happened since the 2021-22 season, after Utah traded Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.”
“So … As hard as it is for rival teams to read the intentions of a front office that now houses Austin Ainge as well as Danny Ainge, the more teams we talk to are increasingly convinced that the Jazz are more likely to look to add to their Markkanen-led core this trade season, rather than trade Markkanen.”
Lauri Markkanen is off to the best start for the Jazz
Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen’s impressive start will only fuel the rumours for a subpar team with the fifth-worst record in the Western Conference. Still, as NBA Insider Marc Stein notes, Markkanen is happy in Utah, and despite never reaching the postseason, he’s trying to be the team’s franchise player.
“Markkanen is averaging a career-high 28.5 points per game in his ninth season to follow up on a monster summer for the Finnish national team. It’s true that the 28-year-old still hasn’t logged a single NBA playoff minute, but he unabashedly loves Salt Lake City,” Stein said. “There’s a strong case for building around a 7-foot Fin, when you consider everything.”
Markkanen scored a game-high 51 points in a 138-134 overtime win against the Suns in October.
2025-12-01 15:56:00
