For what it's worth, Lauri Markkanen isn't going anywhere for the time being. However, no one knows if the Utah Jazz plan to keep him for the entirety of his contract. If the Jazz decide they're better off trading him, there's one team that could certainly use a big man nowadays: the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics are fresh out of bigs with the offseason they've had. They traded Kristaps Porzingis, lost Luke Kornet, and it appears Al Horford will be the next one out the door. That's why the Jazz have been floated as a potential trade partner for the Celtics previously, though there's no telling if Markkanen or Walker Kessler would be realistic for Boston.
In case Utah decides to part ways with Markkanen, FanSided's Matt Moore proposed a trade between the Jazz and Boston Celtics that would swap The Finnisher for multiple players. The trade is as follows.
Celtics get: Markkanen
Jazz get: Anfernee Simons, Sam Hauser, Georges Niang, Xavier Tillman, 2027 1st-round pick swap (top-10 protected), 2030 1st-round pick (top three-protected)
Moore explained why the Jazz could talk themselves into a deal like this, including that it would allow them to embrace Bailey in full from the get-go while trading Markkanen.
"Utah cashes in on Markkanen as they continue their rebuild. They have Ace Bailey and Isaiah Collier, which could be a great young core," Moore wrote. "...providing Bailey with competition both provides a backup plan and exerts leverage over Bailey to make sure he lives up to his potential. You can start him and Bailey for a ton of scoring potential and bring Collier in as the game manager point guard in the second unit."
He also added why the rest of the package appeals to the Jazz.
"The other contracts are valuable for Utah; Tillman is a serviceable backup center, Niang is an expiring contract at eight figures, and Hauser is a pure shooter."
Even with all that out there, Moore explained why Jazz fans would not be happy if a deal like this took place.
"Giving up their best player to the Ainges’ former team for weak draft capital and expiring contracts without a blue-chipper."
But would the Jazz truly consider a trade like this? It doesn't sound super appealing because Markkanen is a fantastic asset who is a matchup nightmare when he's on his A-game.
The only way the Jazz would justify this trade
As of this moment, the Jazz have made it clear that they want Markkanen around for when they start actually trying to win games. That probably won't be this season, but they clearly believe the All-Star big man can be a pivotal contributor on a winner.
So, if they made a trade like this, it would be for three reasons: one, they no longer believe Markkanen should be in the long-term plans (likely won't happen for at least a year), two, they are trying to dump his contract for the most value possible, and three, this is the best deal that is out there.
Markkanen was arguably once the best value contract in the NBA. After the Jazz paid him that mammoth extension, that's no longer the case, but the Jazz still don't hold his latest season against him.
As of now, it doesn't really feel like this is something the Jazz would do, but plans can change. There's the possibility he won't want to play there anymore if and when the losses begin to pile up. Should that be the case, maybe a deal like this could be on the table in the near future.
Grade: C+
(This trade revolved more around the Celtics trying to find a suitor for Simons than the Jazz trying to cash in on Markkanen)