Lauri Markkanen continues to look good despite the Utah Jazz starting to look bad over the past week. If the season continues to go in this direction, it won't take long for trade rumors to perk up. One team that would be a fantastic fit for Markkanen (in all honesty, what team would be a bad fit for him?), would be the Milwaukee Bucks. Too bad conjuring up a trade is extremely difficult.
Former NBA star DeMarcus Cousins discussion the notion when talking about how impressive the Bucks have been, then discussed how good Markkanen has been and how better off he would be if he played for a contending team. Cousins then floated the Bucks as a destination for Markkanen.
Lauri Markkanen’s 29 points were wasted last night as the Jazz fell by 23 to the Hornets 😬
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) November 3, 2025
Utah clearly isn’t contending this season — but Boogie Cousins says Milwaukee will if Giannis gets some help… pic.twitter.com/XEt4ZWGIey
Cousins isn't wrong about the potential of pairing Markkanen with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Pairing the two-time MVP with not only another dynamic scorer like Markkanen would make the Bucks even more formidable, but pairing Giannis with another big with the rare scoring abilities the Finnisher possesses?
The Jazz have seen some fantastic results from pairing Markkanen with Walker Kessler and Kyle Filipowski. Imagine going from that to Giannis and Myles Turner? Milwaukee's title chances would become the highest they've been since winning it all in 2021.
But... how exactly would a trade work?
The Bucks don't have much to offer for Markkanen
Unlike in previous years, the Bucks aren't completely barren on assets. They have two first-round picks in 2031 and 2032, though they can't offer both in a trade straight up. They could offer one straight up and another in a pick swap, but that still doesn't sound too good of an offer for Markkanen.
And how would they match salaries without compromising a good chunk of their rotation? If there were a way to trade Damian Lillard's dead money to Utah, that would help to some degree, but the NBA's salary cap doesn't work that way. If they won't trade Turner, it would have to be Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis combined, and that only accounts for almost $36 million compared to Markkanen's $46 million.
They would have to include $10 million from their other vets to make it work. The Bucks would probably think that's worth it, but the Jazz would have to move other contracts around to even agree to a trade like this. Most importantly, Danny Ainge isn't Nico Harrison, ie, he won't just hand him over.
Not only would the Jazz not get much in return for Markkanen if they traded him to the Bucks, but their roster situation would get even more complicated. Pairing Markkanen with Giannis would be an exciting tandem in Milwaukee, but a trade to the Bucks would be quite complex.
Now, if it were the other way around, it wouldn't be, but the Bucks definitely aren't there. Yet.