Question: if the Utah Jazz Jazz have just about everything ready to go on their most successful run in what feels like ages, why would they mess with the formula before they even have the chance to trot it out?
There has been absolutely no concrete intel suggesting the Jazz would trade Lauri Markkanen, and yet we're seeing him pop up in trade proposals. They're not bad trade proposals, necessarily, but they're ones Utah has no reason to consider right now.
NBA cap guru Yossi Gozlan and CBS Sports' Sam Quinn discussed a trade in which the Jazz would swap Markkanen for Ausar Thompson.
Yossi and I are doing Part 1 of our offseason trade predictions!
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) June 7, 2026
Where's Giannis going? Jaylen Brown? Mystery stars???https://t.co/QkkR2jquOD
This has been brought up before. In fact, it was brought up just a little over a month ago. Look, Utah may have a fair amount of young talent on their roster, and they're about to get plenty more in a few weeks. That doesn't mean they have to trade one of the NBA's most offensively savvy big men for an up-and-coming elite defender with raw offensive potential.
Yeah, there's absolutely no reason for them to trade Markkanen unless they are getting a Giannis Antetokounmpo-type (crazier things have happened!). However, when the Jazz have to start paying the tab in full for this excellent core, they'll have to cut ties with some of their higher-paid guys.
And it's most likely that Markkanen will be the odd man out when they cross that bridge.
Luckily, Utah has time to figure this out
When the Jazz have to pay Walker Kessler, Keyonte George, and Ace Bailey (in that exact order), something has to give. But luckily, the only one they technically have to pay immediately is Kessler, while they can hold off on paying George for another year.
In that time, they can figure out how to approach a potential Markkanen deal. His current contract runs for another three seasons, so they have all the time in the world to decide on what the best move would be. They don't necessarily have to look for an upgrade, but should look for a player who could keep the team afloat.
In a perfect world, it would be great to see Utah keep this core together, but we've seen other teams dismantle themselves simply because of the league's harsh penalties for being above the NBA's tax aprons.
Markkanen has been very patient and has made it clear he's loved his time in Utah, and the team has rewarded him as such. If it's any consolation to the Finnisher, it's likely the Jazz would send him to a winning team.
Because any team who would want Markkanen would do do in the hopes of getting better. That's why trading him would be hard from a sentimental standpoint, but pretty easy from a practical standpoint when judgment day arrives.
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