Analyst explains why Lauri Markkanen situation gives Jazz 'foggy outlook'
By Matt John
With everything pretty much resolved in the 2024 NBA Offseason, all eyes are on what the Utah Jazz do with Lauri Markkanen. While they could trade him while his value is high, there are several reasons why they shouldn't.
Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley wrote one sentence to describe each NBA team's offseason in a July 18 story. When he got to the Jazz, he wrote, "Foggy Outlook Until There's Clarity with Lauri Markkanen."
Buckley explained why he actually likes what the Jazz did this summer.
"The Utah Jazz have had a good offseason already. They pulled three prospects from the draft: Cody Williams (No. 10), Isaiah Collier (No. 29) and Kyle Filipowski (No. 32). In free agency, they added Drew Eubanks and brought back Johnny Juzang. They also watched Kris Dunn head out."
Buckley then explained why he believes there is currently a foggy outlook for the Jazz.
"What they haven't done, though, is make a decision on their long-term future with Lauri Markkanen. Until that domino drops, it's hard to take away anything about this team since Utah is either building around an in-prime 27-year-old or essentially starting from scratch.
"This could drag out for a while, but a resolution will come by Aug. 6. That's when he is both first eligible to ink a renegotiation-and-extension and last eligible to be extended and traded by the Feb. 6 trade deadline."
The Jazz's future will remain in limbo until the Lauri Markkanen situation gets resolved
Outside of the draft, the Jazz haven't really done anything outside of adding Drew Eubanks, who is likely going to be the Omer Yurtseven replacement at best. Until then, it appears that they are in a staring contest with the Warriors with Markkanen.
The Jazz are banking on the Warriors' becoming desperate enough to give them everything they have for Markkanen, while the Warriors are banking on the Jazz's desire to tank the 2024-25 season to draft Cooper Flagg or another potential franchise player in the upcoming draft.
Both teams have aces in the hole. The Jazz can still keep Markkanen and will still be one of the worst teams in the league. The Warriors could hold out and see what stars become available over the course of the 2024-25 season.
As Buckley wrote, there will be more clarity when August 6 rolls around. It may come down to who will be more willing to roll the dice.