According to Tim MacMahon in his latest piece covering intel around the league, “it is not Utah’s intention to trade Lauri Markkanen.” For fans that are wanting to keep Lauri Markkanen on the Jazz, that should make them happy.
But, he goes on...
“It would be too much to describe Markkanen as untouchable, but the Jazz project the All-Star forward as a key player in their future core.”
So the Jazz don’t intend on trading Lauri Markkanen, but he’s not untouchable. I don’t really think that’s a firm stance
either way.
MacMahon goes on to say that Utah listened to offers for Markkanen last summer.
(Record scratch)
Let’s all take a moment to recognize what that means. Those rumors last offseason, the countless ones I wrote about last offseason. You know, the ones that fans called “fake news” and “click bait” turned out to be true. It’s a reminder that these rumors and reports from reputable reporters are definitely worth paying attention to.
(Record scratch)
Apparently, none of the talks with other teams (yes, teams as in plural) “ever came close to tempting CEO Danny Ainge and GM Justin Zanik to make a trade.” And then they decided to give Markkanen a 5-year $238M maximum renegotiation and extension on a date that made it impossible to trade him that trade deadline.
It’s a massive contract for Markkanen, who wildly underperformed last season. But according to MacMahon, that contract is not a concern for Jazz Owner Ryan Smith.
Now, that contract may not be a concern for Smith, but according to MacMahon, it is a concern to opposing GMs since Markkanen has just come off “the worst shooting season of his career, albeit in challenging circumstances.”
MacMahon doesn’t end there, he says that:
“it would take quite a haul for the Jazz to consider moving Markkanen, probably requiring him to restore his value by performing well for those kinds of offers to come the Jazz’s way.”
MacMahon finishes:
The hope in Utah, however, is that Markkanen is still in a Jazz uniform when the franchise eventually becomes competitive again.
So if I’m getting things straight, Utah doesn’t intend to trade Markkanen but he’s not untouchable. They hope Markkanen is part of their future core, but if he plays well and they get a haul of an offer, they’ll move him.
This certainly sounds like the Jazz have gotten offers, but they’ve been lowball offers. I’ve seen this story before. Both last season with the same characters in Markkanen and opposing GMs, but also in how Utah handled the Donovan Mitchell situation.
The other difference here is that Austin Ainge is in charge, as opposed to Danny Ainge and Justin Zanik last time. We’ve already seen Austin Ainge make trades that the Jazz likely refused before. We’ll see what happens here soon, but it certainly looks like the Jazz are hoping for a great offer.
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