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The 3 teams that could give the Jazz a great offer for Lauri Markkanen

Lauri draws a lot of attention on the trade market. Which offers should the Jazz consider?

By Dan Lower

Mar 27, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) goes to the basket against San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan (10), guard Tre Jones (33) and forward Zach Collins (23) during the fourth quarter during the fourth quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) goes to the basket against San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan (10), guard Tre Jones (33) and forward Zach Collins (23) during the fourth quarter during the fourth quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports
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Trade #3 - San Antonio Spurs

Spurs receive: Lauri Markkanen

Jazz receive Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan, 1st round picks in 2024, 2025, and 2026.

This may sound like overkill, but if the Jazz are going to go full-on into the rebuild, they need this trade. Losing Markkanen for two young starters in Johnson and Sochan, plus three first-rounders would be worth it and keep them out of the 30-win range and squarely in the Cooper Flagg lottery hunt in 2024-25.

The picks play out like this: San Antonio's 2024 1st rounder (4th overall), Atlanta's 2025 1st rounder (which San Antonio controls from the Dejounte Murray trade); and swap rights for Atlanta's 2026 pick.

This would give the Jazz a bigger mountain of draft capital moving forward, not to mention the #4 and #10 picks in the 2024 draft, enabling them to grab some very good talent right away.

With the Hawks facing an uncertain path this offseason after the lottery gave them the #1 overall pick, those 2025 and 2026 picks could easily end up in the lottery, giving the Jazz additional picks in better drafts to help move their rebuild forward in the coming years.

San Antonio would get to place a strong #2 scorer next to Wembanyama, moving Devin Vassell into his proper place as the #3 option, where he would benefit greatly from the attention paid to Wemby and Lauri.

This would allow the Spurs to exit their rebuild sooner than expected and start competing for playoff berths in the final years of Gregg Popovich's coaching tenure if they can convince Markkanen to sign long-term.

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