The Utah Jazz have a great starting combo of Collin Sexton and point guard and Lauri Markkanen at small forward. The two men have led the Jazz to a turnaround of massive proportions, dominating opponents and putting together one of the most impressive post-Christmas runs in recent NBA memory. They seem to be on the right path in that regard and should do everything possible to keep both Sexton and Markkanen.
But should there be a trade involving both men, and there shouldn't be, the trade should include Rudy Gobert or Donovan Mitchell's levels of returns. We're not just talking draft picks, but good young players. Nothing less than what the Jazz got from the Minnesota Timberwolves or the Cleveland Cavaliers should do.
So if you don't have those assets available, you're not going to get what you want from the Jazz. And that includes the Los Angeles Lakers. According to Dave McMenamin (via SLCDunk), the Lakers are interested in the Jazz's point guard, a move that doesn't make much sense on two fronts.
For the Lakers, they already have a bunch of guards who play like Sexton, albeit not as well. They're also not going to be able to get off of money owed to guys like Rui Hachimura or D'Angelo Rusell in order to make the trade for Sexton happen.
Plus, it has to be pointed out, that the Lakers don't have the pieces needed to land Sexton. Their draft picks are pretty pillaged at this point and they have no young players on good contracts worth having. The only trade asset is Austin Reeves and he isn't enough to make the trade happen. Maybe last season, but Sexton has firmly inserted himself as the team's second-best player, and the team isn't going to just let him go for a few late-first-round picks and Reeves.
The Lakers don't have the pieces to make a move for Sexton, at least not a move that the Jazz should actually take seriously.