There are plenty of teams out there who would have a lot to gain from acquiring Lauri Markkanen from the Utah Jazz. However, just because it works on paper doesn't mean the Jazz will bite on any trades.
At least, that's how NBA Insider Marc Stein makes it sound. In a July 8 story, Stein revealed where Markkanen stands compared to other trade targets like Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma.
"The frenzy to try to pry Lauri Markkanen away from the Utah Jazz appears to have calmed for the moment, but league sources say New Orleans remains very open to Brandon Ingram trade discussion, and Washington's Kyle Kuzma looms as a potential difference-maker whose team-friendly contract... virtually ensures that the Wizards will continue to field interest in the versatile forward in this ultra-punitive era for teams with high payrolls."
So while the Jazz may look into trading Collin Sexton and/or Walker Kessler, it sounds like Markkanen isn't going anywhere. While the Jazz could get some good value out of him, knowing he's a young star who's embarrassingly underpaid, there's no guarantee that any prospect they'd get out of him would be as good as he is.
There could be a Godfather offer out there for Markkanen, but there's no rush to get rid of the guy just for the sake of getting rid of him. Stein added more about the current predicament with Markkanen than Utah's disinterest in trading him.
Lauri Markkanen wants to stay with Jazz long-term.
"It seems unlikely (a trade) would happen, because Markkanen is by all accounts is happy in Salt Lake City and believed to be interested in securing a future there," Stein wrote in that same story.
The Jazz have had a long history of breaking up with their stars in the 21st century. Sometimes it's ugly, like the ones with Gordon Hayward and Deron Williams, and sometimes it's not, like when they traded Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.
Markkanen finally hit his stride with the Jazz after showing flashes of what he could be before they acquired him. Even if the Jazz haven't succeeded much as a team since they traded for him, they unlocked his game, and it's made him one of the league's most exciting players.
The Jazz may very well trade all of their rotation players except him to tank the season, but he is a pillar of hope for a team hoping to build a contender the right way.