It's all well and good that the Utah Jazz have a star who has maintained his loyalty to the franchise in Lauri Markkanen. At the same time, it's only become more difficult to see how he fits in their long-term plans, which is why he's better off on a team trying to win. One team that fits that bill and makes a lot of sense as a trade partner for the Jazz is the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Trail Blazers have been brought up before as a Markkanen destination. That was before the Jazz got their devastating lottery results. Now that the lottery has revealed the NBA draft order, CBS Sports' Sam Quinn proposed another trade between the Jazz and Trail Blazers in which the following would occur.
Trail Blazers get: Lauri Markkanen
Jazz get: Deandre Ayton, Matisse Thybulle, 2025 No. 11 overall pick, most and least favorable of Milwaukee, Portland, and Washington's first-round picks in 2029
Quinn explained why the Jazz would be incentivized to trade Markkanen. It goes beyond the fact that Markkanen fits less and less into their timeline,.
"They could simply try to tank again next year with Lauri Markkanen on the team, but doing so would mean testing league policy again," Quinn wrote. "They explored Markkanen deals last offseason, but he became ineligible for a trade during the season when he renegotiated and extended his contract. That limitation is now out of the way, so Utah can move him for the right offer."
Quinn further added that Markkanen's value has cratered enough that a deal like this might be the best that the Jazz can hope for.
"Would three first-round picks do it? It didn't a year ago, when Danny Ainge asked opposing teams for the moon. But Markkanen just isn't as valuable on his current deal."
The difference between this Markkanen/Trail Blazers trade and the one floated before is that this one offers more picks (and is more specific) while also offering more cap flexibility, as both Ayton and Thybulle will play on expiring contracts next season (if Thybulle opts in for the last year of his deal, which he definitely will).
Other factors would go into whether the Jazz would do this
This trade isn't terrible, especially after the season Markkanen had. Plus it allows the Jazz to get younger, which looks like their best option. It's just not particularly special because if they agreed to it, odds are that it wouldn't change their youth movement much.
The Jazz already have many draft assets. The No. 11 pick isn't bad but it's not great. It's around where the Jazz picked last year, but then, lest we forget, they drafted Cody Williams, whose rookie year wasn't just underwhelming. It was concerningly underwhelming.
Plus, even if cap flexibility is valued now more than ever, it isn't much of a concern for the Jazz. John Collins, Collin Sexton, and Jordan Clarkson will all be off their payroll this time next year, and that's only if they're still on the team, which is up in the air.
This trade would depend on whether the Jazz are serious about trading Markkanen (nothing has confirmed that), if they want to get rid of him ASAP (they have time), and if that was the best offer on the table (his value's not that high right now, but that can change).
The Jazz will be bad next year too whether they won the lottery or not and whether Markkanen's on the roster. The biggest advocates for a trade like this would be those who think the Jazz star should spend his prime on a winning team.
Grade: B