In recent weeks, we’ve started to get a bit more traction developed surrounding a potential move with the Utah Jazz and Lauri Markkanen.
While the Jazz might not exactly be shopping their star forward in Markkanen on the trade block this offseason, that doesn’t mean they aren’t open for business to at least listen to a few calls on what offers could be out there in exchange for their All-Star-level talent.
We just saw during this past season’s trade deadline how easily a star player like Luka Doncic can be traded at a moment’s notice, and Markkanen is no exception to that. So, if the right deal comes Utah’s way, perhaps they could look into the idea of a trade a bit further.
One proposed package for Markkanen that could interest the Jazz comes from Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey with a trade idea to send him to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes, and three first-rounders.
Bailey also rattled off a bit of his rationale as to why the Jazz would be compelled to make such a move.
“Now three years into the post-Donovan Mitchell-Rudy Gobert rebuild, the Utah Jazz still haven’t hit on a single first-round pick, at least not to the degree it looks like any member of their young core will be a sure-fire future star,” said Bailey. “That struggle crystallized on lottery night last month, when Utah, despite an aggressive tank job throughout 2024-25, fell four spots and wound up with the No. 5 pick in a draft that appears to have one of those sure-fire future stars in Cooper Flagg.”
“The Jazz can react to that misfortune in a few ways,” Bailey wrote. “They could just sort of push on organically, hope one of their recent first-rounders takes a leap and get more competitive in a few years. They could trade some of those players and some future picks to add a win-now player to Lauri Markkanen. Or, they could double down on the tank, trade Markkanen and try the lottery again next year. This move obviously leans into that final approach, though it also gives the Jazz a another forward in Devin Vassell who could potentially be flipped for more assets down the road. Getting him multiple first-round picks is a decent haul for Markkanen.”
As for the Spurs, it makes a lot of sense as to why Markkanen could be an ideal fit. If they can’t land a top-end superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Jazz star could be a feasible option B.
“For the Spurs, this is a heck of a fallback if they aren’t able to land Giannis,” Bailey wrote. “Markkanen’s finishing ability, both as an outside shooter and dunker, would draw tons of attention from Victor Wembanyama.”
So the question is: would a package like this one be enough to sway the Jazz front office?
For the price of a valuable young piece and three future first-rounders, in reality, isn’t the worst return for a player of Markkanen’s caliber, especially in the position of the Jazz. Not only does a move like this align with this young core of this group as a better timeline fit with Vassell entering the fold, but it also adds even more first-rounders to their treasure chest of draft assets.
Again, for a Markkanen trade to develop over the course of this offseason, the Jazz brass would really have to be wowed by a package in order to truly considering pulling that trigger. It remains unknown if a proposal like this could have the means to do so, but on paper, this is far from the worst outcome if the 27-year-old forward was ultimately traded later this summer.
