As the offseason approaches, the Utah Jazz find themselves in a weird spot. If you rewind to the beginning of the season, one would have expected them to tank, but now, they’re in a complete difference place.
After trading their two franchise stars, they found new stars in Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler. Utah even competed for a Play-In spot, and although they didn’t get in, it was still a successful season.
But now, they have some choices to make.
Do they cut back on winning in an attempt to get back up into the lottery next year? Or do they embrace the triumph they found this season and add contending pieces around Markkanen and Kessler?
Considering how young those two players are, either would make sense, but they have the roster to effectively compete if they add a couple more players, so why not go for it?
3 Utah Jazz free agent targets with ties to Lauri Markkanen
Markkanen was named to his first All-Star team this year and took home the Most Improved Player award. His resounding success story headlined an amazing Jazz season in which they shattered expectations.
As the team searches for potential free agent targets, they should take a look at some people Markkanen would be comfortable playing with.
They already did that this season when they inked Kris Dunn to a two-year deal. The two played together as members of the Chicago Bulls in the early days of Markkanen’s career.
So, as the Jazz poke around in free agency to round out their roster, here are three potential targets with ties to Markkanen that they could go after.
Max Strus
Using the word “ties” loosely here, Max Strus only appeared in two games with the Chicago Bulls during the 2019-20 season, but that does, in fact, mean he was teammates with Lauri Markkanen.
That version of Strus only put up five total points across the two games, but the current version of Strus could give the Utah Jazz a major boost on the wing.
Right now, Strus is in the midst of a playoff run with the Miami Heat, but whether or not he’ll be back in South Beach remains to be seen. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Both he and Gabe Vincent will be in search of new contracts, and unless the Heat decide to break the bank, it’s plausible that one of the two ends up moving on to a new squad.
For Utah, adding a player like Strus would give them some serious help behind the three-point arc. Strus could also work to expand his game with the Jazz, as he would likely have a bit more freedom to work.
Utah ranked fifth in three-point attempts last season but just 20th in percentage. If Strus can get back to shooting near 40% at high volume, that would be a major win for the Jazz.
Edon Maxhuni
Who?
That’s the response most people should deliver at the time of reading this. Edon Maxhuni has never stepped foot in the NBA, so why would the Utah Jazz consider signing him?
Well, Lauri Markkanen, of course.
Markkanen and Maxhuni played with each other on the Finnish National Team. At this past summer’s EuroBasket, he averaged the third-most minutes on the team.
The 6-foot-2 guard is only 25 years old and would give the Jazz some depth at that position, which is needed considering they shipped off Mike Conley at this year’s trade deadline.
Currently, Maxhuni plays for Hakro Merlins Crailsheim, a team in the Basketball Bundesliga in Germany. And thus far, he’s put together a pretty solid season.
Across three different competitions with the team, Maxhuni has appeared in 45 games and played 22.1 minutes per contest. He’s averaged 12.7 points on 43.0% shooting from the field and 37.7% shooting from distance, along with 1.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.
Obviously, there’s a sense of unknown when signing a player from overseas, but the Jazz took that risk last season when they brought in Simone Fontecchio. Why not take a chance on one of Markkanen’s Finnish teammates?
Coby White
Adding Coby White to the roster could prove to be a bit tricky, as he will be a restricted free agent this offseason. However, if the Utah Jazz decide they really want him, they could attempt to overpay and price the Chicago Bulls out of re-signing him.
Chicago will have a chance to match, but if they decide they don’t want to pay as much as the Jazz are willing to, Utah will have a new point guard on their hands.
White and Lauri Markkanen played together in Chicago for a few years at the beginning of their careers, leading the charge amidst a Bulls rebuild that was never seen to fruition.
This year, White found a second gear toward the end of the season. Post-All-Star break, the Bulls point guard averaged 11.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. More impressively, he shot 49.0% from the field and 41.3% from behind the three-point line.
As things stand, the Jazz don’t have a go-to starting point guard, so bringing White on board would give them a great option, especially considering he’s only 23 years old.
Sometimes, as seen with Markkanen, players need a new environment to become the best version of themselves. By bringing White out of Chicago, maybe the Jazz could help White realize that success.