Implausible Jazz trade idea raises key Lauri Markkanen question

The Utah Jazz have not (and never have) made Lauri Markkanen available in a trade. Their current mindset is that Markkanen will look more like himself this coming season, and they very well may be right. However, a recent trade proposal raises one pivotal question about Markkanen: What if he doesn't regain his All-Star form?

For context, before the Jazz re-acquired Georges Niang, NESN's George Balekji and Adam Pellerin outlined a potential trade between the Jazz and Boston Celtics that would ship Markkanen to Beantown. They detailed the following trade proposal.

Celtics receive: Markkanen

Jazz receive: Niang, Anfernee Simons, Sam Hauser, Xavier Tillman, two first-round picks

So, elephant in the room: the two sides can't make this trade now because of the Niang trade, but his contract was only $8.2 million, which the Celtics can easily fill with someone else like Payton Pritchard.

Another sidenote: if the Jazz were currently offered this, they'd laugh the Celtics out of the room with how they currently value Markkanen. This isn't a deal the Jazz would agree to right now, but if Markkanen shows them that he isn't the player he was from 2022 to 2024 and never will be, then suddenly something like this could hold more appeal to them.

Utah extended Markkanen to signal that they believe he is a star who could be a vital contributor in their next playoff team, but the early return on investment left a lot to be desired from Markkanen's end. He put up his worst numbers as a Jazzman across the board without question.

Now, everyone knows the circumstances are different from what they are now, but if Markkanen continues to put up those numbers, even as the shackles have come off, that puts Utah in a precarious position. Suddenly, Markkanen starts to look more like an albatross contract, as he'll start the first year of a four-year, near-$196 million contract extension.

No one is saying that's what Markkanen is now because Jazz fans (and even those who don't watch the Jazz often) know full and well what he can do when he's at his best, but this isn't a possibility that should be brushed off. If his play does not return to what it once was, that's a problem for Utah, which is why a trade idea like this wouldn't be so laughable.

If Markkanen doesn't return to form, that deal might be the best Utah can hope for

If Boston offers Utah a way out of said hypothetical Markkanen problem, it might be in the Jazz's best interest to accept it, provided Boston would offer a deal like this should Markkanen show last season wasn't a fluke.

It's not like a rebuilding team like Utah couldn't swallow a potential albatross contract like his, but it's also not like any team wouldn't try to get rid of a bad contract if the opportunity presented itself. The point stands though that the only way the Jazz would do this is if they know Markkanen won't return to full form and they want to get rid of him.

They are nowhere near that point and likely won't be for a while. However, this is a possibility they should keep in the back of their head.