Markkanen: Tanking is a failed concept

[Axolotl]

Lauri Markkanen spoke to the finnish broadcaster Yle saying that tanking is a failed concept.

Generally speaking, it's a concept that's gone awry. Losing is rewarded. Losing intentionally is not part of sports, or especially professional sports. Everyone should be trying to win. I think this is perhaps a wrong direction for the business.

He also says he has more faith in Jazz's front office than he has on his own GM skills, and that he hopes for good players to join the team, either through draft or by other means.

In finnish: https://yle.fi/a/74-20156263

Machine translation: https://yle-fi.translate.goog/a/74-20156263?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=fi&_x_tr_pto=wapp

[Inigo Montoya]

Lauri Markkanen spoke to the finnish broadcaster Yle saying that tanking is a failed concept.

Generally speaking, it's a concept that's gone awry. Losing is rewarded. Losing intentionally is not part of sports, or especially professional sports. Everyone should be trying to win. I think this is perhaps a wrong direction for the business.

He also says he has more faith in Jazz's front office than he has on his own GM skills, and that he hopes for good players to join the team, either through draft or by other means.

In finnish: https://yle.fi/a/74-20156263

Machine translation: https://yle-fi.translate.goog/a/74-20156263?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=fi&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Depends on what he means when he says it's a failed concept. In the competitive and the spirit of the sport sense, yes, tanking is the complete opposite, and it rewards losing as long as it goes on. But there is no denying that most, if not all championship teams throughout history were built around players who were selected very high in the lottery, and that most franchise players were selected in the top 5 (we post the same chart that shows this every season). In other words, tanking does work as a means to get top-end talent to build your team around, and make your team competitive again.

[babyjax13]

I think we need to trade him, regardless. This has been a miserable season, but in part it is because the front office tried to run two tracks and so we walked away with Hendricks instead of a shot at Wemby, or Miller, or Amen, or even Scoot who I still think will be a good player. We walked away with Cody Williams instead of ... well, that draft sucked (but Kyshawn George was #2 on my big board and has been undeniably better). We didnt trade Lauri at the peak of his value, and we made some half hearted overtures to bring in Paul George and Mikal Bridges which would have led to more of the same. Commit to rebuilding, or commit to Lauri, don't repeat a season of resting everyone competent so that you can get the lottery odds you want...trade the guys you'd be resting, none will be here in 4 years, anyway.

[Cappy_Smurf]

I think we need to trade him, regardless. This has been a miserable season, but in part it is because the front office tried to run two tracks and so we walked away with Hendricks instead of a shot at Wemby, or Miller, or Amen, or even Scoot who I still think will be a good player. We walked away with Cody Williams instead of ... well, that draft sucked (but Kyshawn George was #2 on my big board and has been undeniably better). We didnt trade Lauri at the peak of his value, and we made some half hearted overtures to bring in Paul George and Mikal Bridges which would have led to more of the same. Commit to rebuilding, or commit to Lauri, don't repeat a season of resting everyone competent so that you can get the lottery odds you want...trade the guys you'd be resting, none will be here in 4 years, anyway.

I mean, why are we worried about not being committed when we just put up the worst record in the NBA?

If Utah lucks into Flagg, I don't think there's any chance the Jazz will be sitting Lauri/Kessler next year. That would be a great way to piss off the guy you're hoping to be a franchise player that will stick around. If the lottery doesn't go their way, then I think it becomes more likely that that we trade either/both. The whole point of keeping them was to shorten the rebuild time. Without those 2 players, we'd be waiting years to draft and then develop young players.

I really think fans underestimate the time/difficulty involved in rebuilding from the ground up. Not to mention that it's a difficult situation to develop young players when they are getting blown out every game.

[babyjax13]

I think we need to trade him, regardless. This has been a miserable season, but in part it is because the front office tried to run two tracks and so we walked away with Hendricks instead of a shot at Wemby, or Miller, or Amen, or even Scoot who I still think will be a good player. We walked away with Cody Williams instead of ... well, that draft sucked (but Kyshawn George was #2 on my big board and has been undeniably better). We didnt trade Lauri at the peak of his value, and we made some half hearted overtures to bring in Paul George and Mikal Bridges which would have led to more of the same. Commit to rebuilding, or commit to Lauri, don't repeat a season of resting everyone competent so that you can get the lottery odds you want...trade the guys you'd be resting, none will be here in 4 years, anyway.

I mean, why are we worried about not being committed when we just put up the worst record in the NBA?

If Utah lucks into Flagg, I don't think there's any chance the Jazz will be sitting Lauri/Kessler next year. That would be a great way to piss off the guy you're hoping to be a franchise player that will stick around. If the lottery doesn't go their way, then I think it becomes more likely that that we trade either/both. The whole point of keeping them was to shorten the rebuild time. Without those 2 players, we'd be waiting years to draft and then develop young players.

I really think fans underestimate the time/difficulty involved in rebuilding from the ground up. Not to mention that it's a difficult situation to develop young players when they are getting blown out every game.

See bold.

I actually think it is the FO who has underestimated the difficulty of doing so. They thought they could do this without any pain and realized in season 3 that they couldn't. If we had Wemby now (obviously we may not have gotten him) we'd be in a much better situation than keeping the vets around. By the time Flagg is starting his prime Lauri will be dealing, the timelines dont match. I just dont think this is a good strategy.

[Daddy 801]

I think we need to trade him, regardless. This has been a miserable season, but in part it is because the front office tried to run two tracks and so we walked away with Hendricks instead of a shot at Wemby, or Miller, or Amen, or even Scoot who I still think will be a good player. We walked away with Cody Williams instead of ... well, that draft sucked (but Kyshawn George was #2 on my big board and has been undeniably better). We didnt trade Lauri at the peak of his value, and we made some half hearted overtures to bring in Paul George and Mikal Bridges which would have led to more of the same. Commit to rebuilding, or commit to Lauri, don't repeat a season of resting everyone competent so that you can get the lottery odds you want...trade the guys you'd be resting, none will be here in 4 years, anyway.

I mean, why are we worried about not being committed when we just put up the worst record in the NBA?

If Utah lucks into Flagg, I don't think there's any chance the Jazz will be sitting Lauri/Kessler next year. That would be a great way to piss off the guy you're hoping to be a franchise player that will stick around. If the lottery doesn't go their way, then I think it becomes more likely that that we trade either/both. The whole point of keeping them was to shorten the rebuild time. Without those 2 players, we'd be waiting years to draft and then develop young players.

I really think fans underestimate the time/difficulty involved in rebuilding from the ground up. Not to mention that it's a difficult situation to develop young players when they are getting blown out every game.

See bold.

I actually think it is the FO who has underestimated the difficulty of doing so. They thought they could do this without any pain and realized in season 3 that they couldn't. If we had Wemby now (obviously we may not have gotten him) we'd be in a much better situation than keeping the vets around. By the time Flagg is starting his prime Lauri will be dealing, the timelines dont match. I just dont think this is a good strategy.

I think Lauri’s game will extend his playing “prime”. He’s really a tall SG. He can play off ball screen 3 pointy shooting well into his 30’s.

[BigJimFinn]

Lauri is taking out his frustration from the season on poor, innocent Belgium.
He scored 48 in 25 minutes for Finland in a pre-Euros friendly today.

[Inigo Montoya]

https://youtu.be/L_-ZvKOmDkM?si=LE-Eb46KJ1uSm5PA

[Daddy 801]

https://youtu.be/L_-ZvKOmDkM?si=LE-Eb46KJ1uSm5PA

That’s some weak looking competition. But that’s what he should do against those guys. He is looking crisp on his rotations and movement.

[Jammer]

About 1 year ago I had suggested moving Markkanen (if team had deal in place when he could still be traded before trade deadline) to Golden State for a my perceived Best Offer from the Warriors:

Andrew Wiggins
Golden State Unprotected 1rsts in 2026 and 2028
Atlanta 2nd Round Picks in 2026 and 2028

That, I believed, was the best you could get for Markkanen and this board pretty firmly did not support that trade proposal, arguing that Markkanen would return more in another deal if the Jazz decided to trade him.

I have doubts about the way the team is constructed in terms of Non-Classic PG, SG and SF at the moment.

Had you done the deal a year ago, you MIGHT have drafted Tre Johnson at SG with the #5 pick instead of Ace Bailey to add a shooter.

Your Lineup of starters would be:

PG: Walter Clayton / Isaiah Collier / Keyonte George

SG: Tre Johnson / Brice Sensabaugh / Svi Mykhailiuk

SF: Andrew Wiggins / Kyle Anderson / Cody Williams

PF: Kyle Filipowski / Georges Niang / Kevin Love

C: Walker Kessler / Jusuf Nurkic / Taylor Hendricks

Which I think is a more balanced lineup than what you have right now. I think the fit with Wiggins and Tre Johnson is better than Lauri and Ace Bailey, and you'd have the two Golden State 1rst's and two Atlanta 2nds.

Wondering if all those who voted NO a year ago still feel that way now, in terms of the fit of the current players and what Markkanen might return if traded NOW.

[Inigo Montoya]

About 1 year ago I had suggested moving Markkanen (if team had deal in place when he could still be traded before trade deadline) to Golden State for a my perceived Best Offer from the Warriors:

Andrew Wiggins
Golden State Unprotected 1rsts in 2026 and 2028
Atlanta 2nd Round Picks in 2026 and 2028

That, I believed, was the best you could get for Markkanen and this board pretty firmly did not support that trade proposal, arguing that Markkanen would return more in another deal if the Jazz decided to trade him.

I have doubts about the way the team is constructed in terms of Non-Classic PG, SG and SF at the moment.

Had you done the deal a year ago, you MIGHT have drafted Tre Johnson at SG with the #5 pick instead of Ace Bailey to add a shooter.

Your Lineup of starters would be:

PG: Walter Clayton / Isaiah Collier / Keyonte George

SG: Tre Johnson / Brice Sensabaugh / Svi Mykhailiuk

SF: Andrew Wiggins / Kyle Anderson / Cody Williams

PF: Kyle Filipowski / Georges Niang / Kevin Love

C: Walker Kessler / Jusuf Nurkic / Taylor Hendricks

Which I think is a more balanced lineup than what you have right now. I think the fit with Wiggins and Tre Johnson is better than Lauri and Ace Bailey, and you'd have the two Golden State 1rst's and two Atlanta 2nds.

Wondering if all those who voted NO a year ago still feel that way now, in terms of the fit of the current players and what Markkanen might return if traded NOW.

I would still vote no. for several reasons:

1. If they Jazz wanted Tre Johnson, they would have drafted him. They had their choice between him and Ace and they chose Ace. If their thought process would have been that they should draft Johnson because he's a better fit next to a 30.5 year old Wiggins who has no future with the Jazz, that would have been a huge mistake (and I preferred they draft Johnson over Ace).

2. Wiggins is 30.5 years old. What future does he have with the Jazz that we're trying to pair him with a draft pick for the best possible fit?

3. That proposed trade was not a good return imho. The Warriors with Markkanen would have made that 2026 pick be in the 20s.

4. I didn't like the Warriors' proposal back then and I still don't.

5. The Jazz aren't trying to win, they're trying to tank next season, so why would they want Wiggins, who will also take time away from Brice, Williams, Hendricks and Ace\Johnson.

6. I don't care about fit of players at this stage, when the Jazz are trying to lose games. They should be focused on finding their franchise player and then worry about which players fit next to him.

7. The Jazz played Markkanen differently last season, which was the main cause for his down season. If he's killing it in Europe and plays well with the Jazz, his value once again would be quite high.