The Utah Jazz are hoping to land some major names this offseason, not trade any away. While not stated outright, the goal in Salt Lake City is to keep Lauri Markkanen and not only keep but extend him for the long term. The Jazz are hoping to build a championship-contender team around him going forward, but that can only really happen if they keep him and add around him.
Yet, some believe that LeBron James will force the Los Angeles Lakers' hand and acquire the big. James made news recently for telling J.J. Reddick that Markkanen was one of his favorite players to watch and the way the team used Markkanen was a really impressive sight.
Jazz site, SLC Dunk thinks the Jazz should consider the trade, suggesting that they trade Markkanen to the Lakers for three first-round picks and Austin Reeves. They cite a number of reasonable points, prioritizing the rebuild, giving the younger players more time, cashing in on Markkanen while his value is high, etc.
They aren't wrong in their reasoning, but the Lakers don't have the assets needed for Markkanen. He's a Top 25 player, and hearing how much James raves about Markkanen should give anyone looking to trade for the Finnish superstar an idea that he won't come cheap.
Three first-rounders may have made sense before but seeing how he is consistently this good game in and game out, he's far worth more than three picks. Now, you could argue me down from four picks to three if you trade over some good talent. Reeves is good, but I'd need another player of similar or greater value to Reeves to make the trade make sense.
The Lakers aren't far away from having the assets, but they're not there yet. If the Jazz fail to land any major superstars this offseason and Markkanen isn't keen to extend, sure, let's talk turkey and get a trade that works for the Jazz going.
But for right now, the Lakers don't have the assets needed.