5 NBA teams that must consider trading for Lauri Markkanen
The largest remaining domino this offseason is that of Lauri Markkanen's future with the Utah Jazz. The seven foot sharpshooter has been at the forefront of trade rumors essentially since he was acquired by the Jazz in the deal that sent five-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Jazz president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has long been notorious for his trade habits. Whether it's his ability to almost pull off a major deal or his track record of trade robberies, such as the infamous deal between the Brooklyn Nets and Ainge's former Boston Celtics, which set the table for the latter's recent championship victory, Ainge is one of the first that comes to mind when thinking of the most devious dealmakers in trade negotiations.
As negotiations continue with multiple teams for Utah's 27-year-old All-Star, Ainge and the Jazz find themselves in quite the predicament and risk losing leverage as they approach Aug. 6, the day Markkanen becomes extension-eligible.
While that does not inherently kill the pursuit of Markkanen, it does make the window significantly narrower. After extending a player, a team cannot trade said player for six months. This upcoming season, the NBA trade deadline happens to fall on Feb. 6, which means if the Jazz were to extend Markkanen, they would have to do so the first day he is eligible in order to still be able to trade him, and they would only have one day, the day of the deadline, to do so.
Conversations can occur even though the period Markkanen cannot be dealt, but it's certainly a far less flexible situation and that's not even considering the salary matching ramifications.
Whether or not Utah decides to extend Markkanen, trading him remains very much on the table despite the franchise dragging its feet, which is much in line with Ainge's style. As for who could be the team to pry Makkanen from the Jazz's hands finally—there's a joke in here somewhere; there is a clear favorite, but there are still a few options.