A Lauri Markkanen trade has been a hot topic for the Utah Jazz for the last month or so. There's been plenty of speculation that the Jazz may pull the trigger on a trade. Former Jazz reporter Tony Jones revealed that if whether that's the case or not, Utah will only trade him if they get a return package that's too good to pass up.
Jones, who covers the Philadelphia 76ers now, revealed that the Jazz are not trading Markkanen away unless they are blown away by the package they receive in return.
It’s Utah won’t move him unless the package is really good https://t.co/M286PoWjJL
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) October 27, 2025
While this may seem like a given, many believe that because Utah is in the midst of a rebuild, the team would jump at the chance to trade him so that the Jazz can embrace their youth movement once and for all. However, the Jazz have no reason to have this mindset.
Keeping Markkanen hasn't gotten in the way of their tanking ambitions (yet), so until he proves to be a problem, and until the Jazz know for certain that, more than anything, keeping him is against their best interest, they won't trade him just because they can. They will trade him if and when they receive an offer they couldn't refuse.
Considering Danny Ainge may actually be the NBA equivalent of Vito Corleone, that would take quite a Godfather-like offer to get his attention.
That doesn't mean a trade won't happen
Even if the Jazz won't trade Markkanen just because they can, the opportunity may still be there down the line. Teams get desperate either when they are right there and just need a missing piece or are failing expectations and want to get back on track.
Markkanen is the kind of players that can fulfill both of those expectations by himself if he were to be acquired. Something a trade partner should know is that Utah already has plenty of draft assets in its arsenal. They don't just want more of them. They want to improve them in general.
A GM like Danny Ainge is smart enough to know when to take advantage of a trade partner's desperation (which is why Draymond Green advised Golden State not to acquire Markkanen), so if he sees a trade offer that is sure to benefit Utah in the long run, he will definitely take it.
It's why no one should really have an idea on what the plan is. There's no telling what a team would be willing to offer in a Markkanen deal. If one takes place, fans should be pretty confident in the package the team gets in return for him because Markkanen is just that good and Ainge is just that good at extracting assets.