NBA Trades: 5 superstars that teams will be lining up to trade for this summer

3) Lauri Markkanen- Utah Jazz

While playing for the Utah Jazz, Lauri Markkanen has developed into one of the best young forwards in the NBA. Once a cast-off, it’s been a tumultuous ride in the NBA for the former Arizona Wildcat. He showed a lot of promise in his first four years while playing with the Chicago Bulls but multiple significant injuries and constant coaching changes hindered the seven-footer’s development.

Markkanen is currently playing under his fifth NBA head coach, despite this being just his seventh season in the league. Since being traded to the Jazz before the 2022–23 season, Lauri Legend has transformed into an absolute stud and altered his career trajectory from castaway to hot commodity.

He was selected for his first NBA All-Star game in his first season with Utah. Since the start of last season, The Marksman has been averaging 24.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Not only has he turned into a scoring machine, but he’s been supremely efficient, boasting .492/.395/.881 shooting splits. His 63.7 true shooting percentage during that span is well above the league average of 58.1 percent.

Unfortunately, all this production has come in vain, as the Jazz have had an atrocious 66-84 record since Markkanen’s arrival. Surprisingly, he was not moved before this year’s trade deadline but the Jazz should have plenty of suitors this offseason as the Finland native enters the final year of a four-year contract he signed back in 2021.