Lauri Markkanen gives first thoughts after signing extension with Jazz
By Matt John
Lauri Markkanen's extension with Utah is officially official. Even though it had been strongly hinted at for some time that he would stay in Utah, and it had all been confirmed on August 6 that he intended to sign, now it's all on the record.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski not only confirmed that Markkanen had signed his extension, but Markkanen himself gave his thoughts on the matter in an August 7 story.
Lauri Markkanen praises Jazz organization
Markkanen praised the Jazz organization as a whole and believes that things can only get better from here.
"They've all showed their belief in me, from the ownership to the front office to Will," Markkanen told ESPN. "It's a comfortable environment and those guys' resumes speak for themselves. I trust in the organization to help grow me as a person and a player, to build our team and I'm ready to take on the challenge."
Markkanen added that with everything taken care of with his extension, now he can focus getting back to playing basketball.
"It's a weight off my shoulders and I can focus only one the main thing now: playing basketball at a high-level" Markkanen told Wojnarowski. "I don't stress about it, but you can't pretend you don't hear that stuff. It's a good feeling knowing that I'm going to be in Utah."
Since Markkanen has found himself in Utah, he has found his footing in the NBA. However, he explained how Utah has also been great off the court.
"Once I got traded to Utah, the organization and city immediately embraced me and it's been a family-oriented place -- especially with me having my own little kids now," Markkanen told Wojnarowski. "It's been an easy transition to basketball and easy off the court. I've grown comfortable building all of these relationships and it's been a great place for me to grow as a person."
Markkanen has been a Jazz success story that no one saw coming but unanimously welcomed when he started to explode. The trade rumors made for some interesting offseason fodder, but reading between the lines, it never felt like the Jazz really entertained trading him.
It remains up in the air if he will finish that contract with the Jazz, so he'll either be part of an amazing future or he'll get them even more assets.