They are, of course, not the only ones who have insisted upon this over the past three years. But the timing of these jabs has forced me to correct some misperceptions that have plagued this point of discussion for years. The nonstop din of petitions that Utah trade Markkanen is based on three ideas that just aren\u2019t true, or, at the very least, should be very far from assumed truths:<\/p>\n
Idea #1: Lauri Markkanen doesn\u2019t, or shouldn\u2019t, want to be in Utah<\/p>\n
First of all, Markkanen loves Utah and has stated that several times. He hasn\u2019t asked out. He likes very Utah-coded activities like disc golf and fishing. He seemingly prefers to keep his family life private and the quieter world of Utah affords more of that. It is rare to have a great player buy into what Utah is, rather than what it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
He also signed his 5-year extension knowing the patience that would be involved in rebuilding this team. Markkanen also purposely delayed signing the extension so he couldn\u2019t be traded for an entire season! Do we really think he\u2019s aghast that the team isn\u2019t ready to compete? He also certainly didn\u2019t need to sign for the full five years, and players in his position often seek to get back onto the free agent market sooner by taking shorter deals or grabbing a player option in exchange for less money in the short term. Will Hardy was the coach that drew out his All-Star potential and there is firm trust between them that he can get back to that status. Markkanen surely knows that jumping to a new spot isn\u2019t going to be some guarantee that the new situation will be better.<\/p>\n
Any review of commentary around this will include some version of the question: \u201cWhy would Markkanen want to waste his prime on a bad team?\u201d Is it so insane that the dude simply likes where he works, and trusts the coaches and front office that believed in him from the jump? Perhaps Markkanen, gasp, agrees with the next-stage vision of the club that includes him? A good culture fit, organizational confidence, and a fat 9-figure extension can go a long way, and it has with Markkanen.<\/p>\n
I like Nate Duncan\u2019s phrase that the Jazz probably \u201cbought his complicity\u201d with way more money than any other team would give him just to ride it out for a couple years while they add talent. Last season\u2019s minute manipulation and bullshit basketball was stupid and soul-crushing, but players are happier if you are at least trying to put your best team on the floor every night, which Utah will do this year. To that end, I could see him getting itchy to leave if next year\u2014not this year\u2014Utah doesn\u2019t have a .500 team on an upward trajectory. We\u2019re not there yet!<\/p>\n
We are constantly insisting that established great players must be on great teams. Mahoney went as far to say he \u201chopes\u201d Lauri isn\u2019t on the Jazz for much longer, which just really irks me, man \u2014 but Utah can get this ship righted way sooner than people seem to think.<\/p>\n
Idea #2: A bad team like Utah has no business keeping a good, young veteran like Lauri Markkanen<\/p>\n
Armchair GMs constantly frame one way for teams like Utah to rebuild: burn the whole effing thing down and rise up from the ashes with draft picks. As much as they chide Sam Hinkie for The Process, similar paths seem to be the only option to them, or else you are eternally the Chicago Bulls.<\/p>\n
Utah already burnt it down three years ago (and even more since) and they\u2019re not remotely good(*). That part is already done, with or without Lauri Markkanen on the roster! It\u2019s not like trading Markkanen allows them to be\u2026 worse? Even if he plays 82 games, Utah is keeping that top-8 protected first round pick they owe to Oklahoma City in 2026 simply because the rest of the roster is so young (or is Literally Jusuf Nurkic). But they have some legit talented pieces that have a reasonable chance of hitting pretty soon! And the trajectory of those players should be boosted if they have a competent structure of Actual NBA Players around them; it can be very hard to evaluate young players if they are surrounded by garbage. But if they can\u2019t figure out how to operate around Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler? Immediate red flags and you can move on quicker to other talent.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s say Ace Bailey shows real All-Star upside in his rookie season (which I firmly believe in<\/a>, if his first impressions are any indication) and Kessler continues to be a real impact player. And pick two or three of (deep breath) Brice Sensabaugh, Taylor Hendricks, Walt Clayton Jr., Keyonte George, Isaiah Collier, and Kyle Filipowski to show they can be okay starters or helpful every-night rotation players on a good team. This is an above-median outcome, but is entirely reasonable!<\/p>\n It sure would be a lot better and faster for that youthful core to get to playoff contention if Utah, you know, had Markkanen on the team than if you had a couple draft picks that, in 4-6 years, could be as good as Lauri Markkanen. Those draft picks could even be a boat<\/a>!<\/p>\n That\u2019s what is the most maddening to me about the perception of the Jazz. Markkanen isn\u2019t helping them win too many games to risk their draft position. To get back into the playoffs, Utah will need a great player or two. Why the hell would they think they could more solidly meet that goal with some middling firsts (because any team acquiring Markkanen will be a good team) that need several years of development, rather than the great player they already have? This is not a real problem, just wishcasting from people who think it should be illegal for an All-Star player to play for a developing team(**).<\/p>\n Idea #3: Utah is actively shopping Lauri Markkanen to the highest bidder<\/p>\n Danny Ainge and Justin Zanik have always been willing to pick up the phone and listen. It\u2019s how the Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell trades got done, and it is absolutely why Utah was willing to see what Mike Dunleavy and Golden State Warriors would come up with in Markkanen trade talks last summer. (Not much, as it turns out!)<\/p>\n But say it with me, slowly: picking up the phone and listening to offers is not the same as canvassing the league and taking the best offer you get.<\/p>\n Just check out this framing from Pina\u2019s piece(***):<\/p>\n A featured image from The Ringer\u2019s piece on Markkanen.<\/p>\n A \u201csweepstakes\u201d?! What is this, the (now-bankrupt<\/a>) Publisher\u2019s Clearing House?! This isn\u2019t a damn silent auction where some non-Utah team is guaranteed to get Markkanen. This non-fact is unfortunately boosted by the general belief in the points above that, well, of course Utah has to get rid of Markkanen, and of course Markkanen wants to leave, so of course they will offload him for the best possible offer. Three wrongs don\u2019t make a right here.<\/p>\n All signs point to Utah being just fine seeing what they can build with Lauri already in the tent. Markkanen\u2019s contract is also a complete non-issue for the Jazz, as their young roster is cheap and pending extensions for Kessler, etc. over the next couple years are unlikely to cripple Utah\u2019s flexibility. Claiming that Utah \u2018blew the situation\u2019 with the extension \u2014 as Lowe said \u2014 only holds water if the only point of Utah having Markkanen on the team is to trade him, which I\u2019ve emphatically laid out as reductive bullshit. We have to be smarter than this and invite more nuance to this discussion.<\/p>\n Lowe, as eternally plugged in as he is, missed the mark when he said he \u201ccan\u2019t imagine a scenario where Lauri Markkanen is on the Jazz in a year.\u201d Utah wants Markkanen on the team for very valid, helpful reasons, and Markkanen wants to be in Utah. Markkanen will stay a Jazzman this season unless a truly transformative offer comes in, and not a moment sooner.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n (*Since we\u2019re implicating The Ringer twice here, allow me a Bill Simmons-style footnote: Utah keeps getting accused of waffling around aimlessly because of the zero-cost John Collins acquisition. It wasn\u2019t some grand gesture that signaled Utah was immediately trying to compete for a playoff spot. It was just free talent that Utah was uniquely positioned to afford given Collins\u2019 bloated contract. It offered a chance to tinker around the idea of a productive team ahead of the not-very-good 2024 draft, where the difference between the 1st and 10th picks was minimal. That\u2019s it! End of story! Didn\u2019t affect them at all!)<\/p>\n (** Compare this to baseball, where it genuinely is maddening to see amazing players on teams that are actively trying to never win. Not just in a development phase, but have reverse incentive to ever try, like Paul Skenes on the Pirates. The Utah Jazz are trying to get good!)<\/p>\n (*** It is always necessary to mention that the author likely isn\u2019t the headline writer, and headlines are meant to provoke and grab clicks, but it\u2019s still wrong framing!)<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t\t
Lauri Markkanen<\/p>\n \t\t\t
\t\t\t\t\t July 10th, 2025<\/p>\n The Utah Jazz are clearly entering a next phase of their rebuild process. After three seasons of a blended approach with veteran…Read More<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t
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Free Agency<\/p>\n \t\t\t
\t\t\t\t\t July 9th, 2024<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/lauripina.png\")
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