The Utah Jazz have done everything in their power to ensure they get the highest lottery odds possible. While tanking is standard for a rebuilding team, this year would make more sense than ever to do it because of Cooper Flagg.
There doesn't have to be an explanation as to why. Before he even put on his Duke jersey, Flagg has been hyped up as the NBA's next superstar in the making. It's why the Jazz tanked from start to finish and weren't alone this season in doing so.
If the Jazz win the lottery, and there's no telling if they will, picking Flagg would be inevitable, no questions asked. However, the possibility of getting Flagg raises another question: what to do with Lauri Markkanen.
Whether the Jazz get Flagg could determine Markkanen's future in Utah
There's an elephant in the room that has become increasingly obvious as time has passed - with the Jazz's current roster, Markkanen does not fit with this team long-term. It makes very little sense to keep him around while the Jazz assemble and develop young talent.
However, teaming up with Flagg certainly changes that up a bit. Flagg is expected to hit the ground running when he enters the NBA. He certainly wouldn't be in his prime if he started his career playing beside Markkanen, but playing at an All-Star level right out the gate would breed intrigue about the ceiling of pairing him with prime Markkanen for the next several years.
Having two All-Stars, even if one is in his prime while the other is years away from it, could be enough for the Jazz to convince themselves to keep Markkanen. Especially if doing so leads to results fans have craved since the Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert days.
However, if they don't get Flagg, that might sway the Jazz to trade Markkanen before his value decreases further. There are other very exciting prospects in the draft, but it remains to be seen if they'll be as NBA-ready as Flagg is expected to be when they enter the league.
It's not fair to waste Markkanen's prime to develop young talent who will need time before they become the players the Jazz want them to be. With Markkanen, the Jazz already know what they have with him, but they may not know what they have if they wind up with a high draft pick not named Flagg.
Among everything that's going on right now with the Jazz, Markkanen's future with the team is something that no one really knows what the plan is. The Jazz embraced the rebuilding direction this year, but what's still unclear is if they plan to keep doing that past 2025.
Getting Flagg or not could answer where Utah would stand with Markkanen. No matter how the ping pong balls shape up, neither route would be wrong to see through.