The Utah Jazz don't want to trade Lauri Markkanen. That has been established for quite some time, and it doesn't look like they will change their tune anytime soon. That hasn't stopped NBA teams from inquiring about him, and one that has recently emerged would make a whole lot of sense if the Jazz had made him available: the Memphis Grizzlies.
HoopsHype's Michael Scotto revealed the Grizzlies as one of the teams that have been interested in Markkanen. After naming the Grizzlies, he revealed where Markkanen would fit on the team.
"Rival NBA executives have linked the San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies, and Detroit Pistons as potential suitors for Markkanen in the past... Executives also pointed to the Grizzlies, who are loaded with first-round draft capital following the Desmond Bane trade and the flexibility to get another star to pair with Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., who are both 26 if they decide to remain competitive in the West," Scotto wrote.
Despite the seismic shift they made when they traded Bane to Orlando, the Grizzlies are still hanging in there and aren't better than they currently are because they have been ravaged by the injury bug (making it worse is that their injuries are par for the course for them with their unlucky history).
Markkanen, a better player than Bane, would make that team even tougher to stop for what he brings to the table. For how good Morant and Jackson are, Markkanen is the elite three-level scorer the Grizzlies have lacked in the Morant era.
However, Markkanen hypothetically fitting just perfectly with the Grizzlies, or really any NBA playoff contender, proves exactly why the Jazz want to keep him. More than that, why they plan to build around him. That kind of piece is rare to find and tough to replace.
Memphis would have a better package than most though
The one misunderstanding about a potential Markkanen trade is that the Jazz would have the same mindset toward trading him as they did toward Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. That is, try to get as many assets as possible. The Jazz already have plenty of assets as is, thanks to those trades, and that trade with Phoenix signaled that they want to improve the quality of those assets, not increase their quantity.
That's why Memphis has appeal as a trade partner. In the Grizzlies' case, they have their own draft assets, but they also have plenty of assets from the Magic's, and that's what would appeal to the Jazz. Teams like to acquire valuable draft capital from other teams they didn't trade with, as the more ambiguous the team's fate is, the more value those assets have.
The Magic have been unpredictable in a season where many believed Bane would vault them to the next level. To be perfectly fair, it hasn't been Bane that's the problem. Rather, we might have to start considering that despite the talent between the duo of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, they might not be a great fit together.
That predicament would make the prospect of getting the Magic's picks enticing for the Jazz if they were trying to trade Markkanen for as much value as possible. They're not, but if they change their mind, Memphis may be at the very top of the list as Markkanen destinations.