Lauri Markkanen makes Jazz writer look pretty stupid after EuroBasket performance

Lauri Markkanen dominated the EuroBasket friendlies. After a down season with the Utah Jazz, Markkanen looked like his old self again. While some were skeptical if he would keep that up when the real tournament begins, Markkanen proved without a shadow of a doubt that his impressive play during the EuroBasket friendlies was no fluke during their debut game against Sweden.

Finland won its first EuroBasket game against Sweden, with Markkanen playing a significant role in his home country's victory.

Markkanen may not have been as dominant as he had been in previous performances, but he did what the best player on his team does: lead the team to victory. More importantly, he erased all doubt of the player he still is. It's not like it's a surprise at all that Markkanen would do something like this, but it's still fun to see nonetheless.

If anything, it gives more hope for what's to come for the Jazz this coming season. Utah's not going to see a lot of wins this season, but seeing Markkanen return to form would still be a fun sight for fans to see.

Will prime Markkanen lead the Jazz to more wins down the line?

Markkanen only continues to signal that he will look more like his old self this coming season, which is unfortunate because an All-Star caliber player like him will likely see another year of his prime wasted with a rebuilding team like the Jazz.

The Jazz star is such an impressive story that it's hard to part ways with him. He's a late bloomer who finally found himself on the right team playing for the right coach. It's not so easy to trade someone like that away, even if it would make some sense.

At 28 years old, one can only wonder when Utah will start trying to win with Markkanen on the team, if it ever gets to that. The Jazz know exactly what he is capable of, which is why they have kept him off the table despite some interested suitors, but how long are they willing to waste his prime until either they decide it's best to get him off the team or until he decides he's best off elsewhere?

What could play a part in Markkanen's long-term future is seeing how he performs alongside the Jazz's young talent. There's no doubt this season will be a lot of mixing and matching for Utah. What will be most interesting is to see how Markkanen meshes with some of Utah's other youngsters, like Ace Bailey and Kyle Filipowski. His chemistry with them could very well determine his future with the Jazz.

If he can make it work with professional Finnish basketball players in the EuroBasket tournament, he can do it with the Jazz. But we'll have to see first.