The date the Utah Jazz signed Lauri Markkanen to that extension last offseason was significant because it prevented any trade from happening for a year. However, there was more to it than Markkanen staying put for another season.
According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Markkanen's choice to stay with the Jazz was also predicated on the belief that they would start being more competitive from there on out, which didn't exactly happen.
"When Markkanen waited to sign his four-year, $220 million contract extension last August, he waited until rules prevented him from being traded this season. But his commitment to the franchise came with an understanding, league sources said, that the Jazz would have a timely turn toward competing. For the moment, that path isn't clear -- and Markkanen can be traded after the season," Windhorst wrote.
This is a bit of a troubling update because the Jazz got demonstrably worse this season. After two consecutive seasons where the Jazz refused to pick a lane, they did this season, and it was to tank, and tank hard.
Intel like this makes it feel like this will all end in the Jazz trading Markkanen away, or at the very least, he'll be in trade rumors all offseason long. Markkanen has made it clear that he loves playing in Utah, but his 28th birthday is in two months. He's entering his NBA prime now, and he may not want to waste it on a team that will likely only continue to rebuild over the next few years.
Markkanen's name didn't show up in trade rumors this season because it was impossible, but that restriction will be lifted once the Jazz season is over. There's no telling if he will ask out in the next few months, but no one would blame him if he did.
Playing for a team that has picked a direction that doesn't fit his current timeline seems like a giveaway that he may not be long for Utah, especially if there's proof that he agreed to that massive contract extension under false pretenses.
Given how bad the Jazz have been this season, one might conclude that they deceived Markkannen when they reached this agreement. However, anyone who remembers how the rest of how last offseason went might want to think harder about that notion.
Were the Jazz really lying to Markkanen?
Around the time the Jazz agreed to this extension with Markkanen, rumors sprouted about their interest in Brandon Ingram, an All-Star-caliber player around the exact same age as Markkanen. That didn't come to fruition because Ingram refused to commit to Utah long-term.
So the Jazz really tried to add another star who fit Markkanen's timeline with the only hurdle stopping them being said star's disinterest in playing in Utah. Because they couldn't find anything else, the Jazz have been among the worst NBA teams.
It's fair to suggest that this situation isn't black and white. The Jazz wanted to give him some help. This also wasn't the first time the Jazz have tried to add All-Star caliber players to put next to Markkanen, as they tried to get Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday the year before.
Now, this doesn't change the fact that the Jazz's season has gone in the exact opposite direction that they promised Markkanen when they gave him a raise, and if he feels like they weren't being honest with him, this could lead to a split not too long from now.
No matter what happens, it should make for one entertaining offseason for Utah.