Lauri Markkanen didn't look too good the last time he played for the Utah Jazz. Since playing for Finland during EuroBasket, he's looked nothing short of brilliant. While this doesn't have much to directly do with the Jazz, there's a solid chance that how he does with Finland could raise his value enough to see himself get traded.
ESPN's Tim Bontemps explained on "The Hoop Collective" why he could see Markkanen's EuroBasket performance leading to the Jazz trading him to embrace their youth.
"I'm very curious with him playing with the Finnish national team. They've got a chance to run potentially in this tournament. I'm curious to see if that becomes a springboard for him to come back with the Jazz and look much more like the player he was a couple years ago.
"Because if he is, a, it's obviously good for the Jazz just to have him playing like that again, and b, he becomes an interesting guy to watch in the trade market over the next year to see if this is the time when Utah decides to move on from him if he is back to looking like an All-Star and they're trying to continue to go in this youth direction," Bontemps said.
The prospect of a Markkanen trade has been discussed since even before he signed his extension with the Jazz last year. There hasn't been any intel confirming that the Jazz are currently planning to sell him off. In fact, the last time any Markkanen intel came out, it was confirmed that Utah has every intention of keeping him.
But things can change. If it becomes glaringly obvious that he doesn't fit with the Jazz's long-term vision, or if it's clear that Utah's better off being as young as possible, that could open the door for a trade.
Jazz fans may not like that because of how big of an impact Markkanen has made on the team, as no one expected him to be this good. More than that, if they opted to replace him, there's no telling if anyone they'd trade him for could be as similarly impactful.
Something else needs to be clear about a potential Markkanen trade though.
The Jazz should only trade Markkanen for a haul
If Markkanen simultaneously looks like a star again while also looking like he's better off elsewhere, the Jazz should only trade him if they get a deal similar to the ones they got for Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Markkanen unleashed is a game-changer for any contender, so anyone who wants him better be willing to pony up to get him.
Utah shouldn't feel any rush to deal him if that's the route they take with him. Especially if he looks like the All-Star he was for two years in Utah. There would be a line of teams drooling over his services if Utah signaled they wanted to part ways.
For that reason, even if he's not the player Mitchell and Gobert are, Utah should settle for nothing less than an overpay.