This past offseason, one of the names that seemingly drew some of the biggest trade interest was Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen. The Jazz and Lauri Markkanen were able to come to an agreement on a contract extension, but even so, his future with the team may not be all that clear.
When Lauri Markkanen signed his contract extension with the Jazz, he seemingly affirmed his commitment to Utah’s future by waiting to sign until he wasn’t able to be traded during the 2024-25 season. But agreeing to the contract extension was reportedly with the understanding that the Jazz were going to be a competitive team, as per Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
With the Jazz in line for another high lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, their path toward relevancy isn’t as clear as it might have been before. Markkanen is trade eligible after the season ends.
It’s important to note that this pretty much speculation and there aren’t any concrete signs that either Markkanen or the Jazz would shift towards a change. But even so, there’s bound to be no shortage of trade suitors as there was last offseason.
Markkanen is entering the prime of his career. He was an All-Star his first season with the Jazz in 2022-23, the same year he won the league’s Most Improved Player Award.
This year, he’s appeared in 44 games, at just about 32 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 19.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists with splits of 42.4 percent shooting from the field, 34.7 percent shooting from the three-point line and 87.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
The Jazz were recently fined by the NBA for failing to make Markkanen available for their recent game against the Washington Wizards.
As it stands, the Jazz currently hold the worst record in the Western Conference standings at 15-58. The only team with a worse record than them is the Washington Wizards at 14-51. The Jazz are on a seven-game losing streak, the longest active streak in the league.
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