This just in: Lauri Markkanen is still an All-Star. This also just in: the Utah Jazz still stink. Even as Markkanen has looked resurgent as a Jazzman this season, the Jazz are in the midst of a three-game losing streak, topped off by two consecutive blowout losses. As those two subplots run together, the question is whether Utah decides it is in its best interest to trade him.
Zach Lowe brought this up when talking about Markkanen on "The Zach Lowe Show." While praising Markkanen for how good he has looked (this was on Halloween), Lowe brought up where the Jazz's front office could stand with him not too long from now.
"Lauri Markkanen, one of the most fun players for basketball nerds to watch because the amount of variety in his offball game is so astonishing that sometimes he fools his own teammates," Lowe said. "... I'm watching the Jazz and I'm like, maybe they shouldn't trade Lauri Markkanen! This is so fun!"
(The Jazz have gotten their butts kicked two games in a row since Lowe said this, though Markkanen has looked excellent.)
The narrative of a Markkanen trade came up a lot after his EuroBasket dominance, and he has only continued to look in ship shape six games into the season. Lowe's notion that they might not want to trade him is definitely something for the front office to consider.
A star like that is hard to come by, and there's no telling if any of the Jazz's young prospects will develop to be as good Markkanen is. That could add further incentive for Utah to trade him because that would give them the chance to tank for a player who could be as good as him, or even better.
If the Jazz only get worse from here, and if Markkanen's play continues to be excellent in that same timespan, the noise about a trade will only grow louder.
Where the Jazz are at midseason could determine their decision
Utah currently sits at 2-6, and they lost winnable games in that stretch. Now, their next stretch of games will only get harder. If they start their first 15 games having won five or fewer, that would be quite a hole for them to dig themselves out of. Too big that not even a return to form for Markkanen could salvage the season.
If the season trajectory doesn't get better, that could push the front office to sell high on him. However, the season is still very young, so there's no need to come to any drastic conclusions just yet.
There's still the chance Utah may play better too. Their youngsters may eventually sprout with enough reps. Utah still has yet to see a youngster really take that next step outside of Keyonte George. If more of them play better as time goes on, Markkanen may stay put.
Lowe's flattering words really resonate because the Jazz would get a haul for Markkanen at this point, but if he's still this good for the entire season, would they even want that to begin with?