Lauri Markkanen entered the offseason with his trade value cratered considerably after a lackluster third season with the Utah Jazz. He has since flipped the script in EuroBasket, making history in addition to his excellent performances. If his EuroBasket play is what's to come in the NBA, he is sure to drive trade rumors this coming season that could factor into how the season turns out.
ESPN's Tim Bontemps harped on this during today's episode of "The Hoop Collective."
"The bigger NBA story right now is Markkanen. This kid's an interesting prospect, but if Lauri Markkanen's an All-Star caliber player again next season, that could have a lot of ramifications across the board," Bontemps said.
Markkanen has been mentioned as an interesting trade prospect before this offseason, due to his performance at EuroBasket. Because he has only continued to further ascend himself during the tournament, that has to make many NBA teams take more interest in him.
The Jazz star hasn't made the playoffs once, but that should not reflect on him much as a player. It wasn't untiul he got to the Jazz that he finally got to show how good he is when he's got the keys to the team. His first two years as a Jazzman, Markkanen showed exactly just how good he can be.
The only conundrum is that his ascent has coincided with a team that has only just now accepted that their best route is to rebuild. Because of that, many will naturally question why the Jazz would keep a win-now star like him.
Why it's different now compared to his first two years in Utah
Back when Utah first acquired Markkanen in 2022, the team did not know exactly what direction to take. His evolution into an All-Star only made their future more ambiguous, as Utah tried to add more stars to the team in 2023, but once those opportunities dried up, it became clearer that their only legitimate option was to go younger.
They did that last year, which factored into a terrible season from Markkanen, and things are not changing this season. Hence, there will be even more buzz that teams will stop at nothing to acquire Markkanen if the opportunity presents itself.
However, even if it makes sense for the Jazz to trade him while his value is high, they ultimately decide what they want to do with him. They have control over him for the next four years, so they can decide whether they want to keep him for all four or if they want to have a bidding war.
No matter what they do, Jazz fans better be prepared for the Markkanen rumors that are sure to lie ahead if he keeps this up.