The Utah Jazz have deflated Lauri Markkanen’s trade value, and things won’t improve this season with an entire rotation of players under 25 years old as the Jazz try to lose games. Markkanen is in his prime, but teams can sell out to stop the former All-Star. The Jazz clearly want to keep him in Salt Lake City, but they can’t expect his production to improve with a young and inexperienced roster around him.
Utah will likely start two young guards and rookie Ace Bailey next to Markkanen and center Walker Kessler. The Jazz are tanking and hope to land the number one overall pick in the 2026 draft. They want to develop their young talent. That means letting the young players fail, piling up losses, and trying to forge an identity. Markkanen will be the focal point of their attack, but it will be one of the worst in the NBA on purpose.
The 28-year-old is a proven scorer and rebounder. Teams must slow him down to defeat the Jazz. Defenders are throwing everything at him as his team happily takes the loss. That makes it difficult to see All-Star Markkanen, and the mistakes made around him further limit his production.
Jazz have put Lauri Markkanen in an impossible position
Markkanen averaged 19.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 31.4 minutes per game last season. His shooting efficiency dropping from 48.0 percent to 42.3 tanked his value. Teams want him as a floor spacer and bucket-getter. If he is scoring inefficiently, that significantly hurts his value.
In a contending situation with other stars around him, Markkanen would quickly regain his efficiency. He took just 3.1 wide-open field goal attempts per game last season, which was down from 3.8 in his All-Star season. Having others to draw the defense makes things easier. His game could also pop with his first NBA playoff experience on the line.
That won’t happen in Utah anytime soon. The Jazz are more worried about developing Ace Bailey than winning games. Figuring out how to get Kyle Filipowski minutes is a larger problem than maximizing Markkanen. The Jazz know Lauri can be an All-Star in the right situation. They need talent around him to create it, and the only way to acquire that is through the draft.
Jazz fans should expect to see Markkanen struggle again this season. Isaiah Collier, Walter Clayton Jr., and Keyonte George will struggle to draw the defense and create open looks for their star. Utah will also attempt to improve their lottery odds by sitting out Markkanen in certain situations. It is an impossible position to succeed in.
Fans won’t see the best from Lauri Markkanen until he gets traded or the Utah Jazz return to contention. The latter could be years away, which will keep the trade rumors flowing. A solution will come, but supporters must be patient. That is the pain of a rebuild.