Lauri Markkanen arrived in Utah as the result of another superstar trade. He was one of the primary assets sent to Utah when the Jazz traded Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers . The plan, pretty transparently, was to tank. That’s the expectation when you turn your two best players into seven first-round picks and a handful of young players.
Markkanen threw that plan off course. He was so good in his new surroundings that the Jazz, two years in a row, managed to hang around the fringes of the playoff race until the trade deadline. He has emerged as an All-Star. Perhaps not a franchise player, but a core piece for a team otherwise lacking them.
So why is Markkanen so frequently mentioned in the rumor mill? Is there any substance to these trade ideas? And what is he worth to a general manager that routinely trades stars for more value than anyone thinks possible?
Why he’s in trade rumors
Markkanen is caught in the same uncomfortable middle ground that Mikal Bridges is in Brooklyn. Clearly, he’d be spectacular as the second-best player on a good team. But the Jazz have missed the playoffs in both of his seasons in Utah. It’s just hard to imagine him being the best player on a winner, and Danny Ainge doesn’t build for the middle. Utah’s goal is championship contention. The Jazz have the assets to trade for a “best player on a winner” sort of guy, but convincing a veteran of that caliber to come to Utah would be difficult. Realistically, their best chance at getting that player is in the draft. Markkanen makes them too good to do so…