Jazz Not Interested In Trading Lauri Markkanen

[Wolveswin]

Jazz instead of trading Markkanen as distressed asset for weak return (picks), swap him for another distressed asset.

Markkanen for Zion.

Let both have fresh starts. Ainge can gamble that Zion upside can be achieved netting him even more value than Markkanen. Pelicans can get a player more ready to contribute to a team on the hook for success in 25/26 (vs on a tanking team).

Aren't both teams trying to tank though?
Both players shine and lead their new team for 36 wins resulting to a low pick next summer.

NOP traded their 2026 1st unprotected. They are opposite of tanking.

[Wolveswin]

Jazz instead of trading Markkanen as distressed asset for weak return (picks), swap him for another distressed asset.

Markkanen for Zion.

Let both have fresh starts. Ainge can gamble that Zion upside can be achieved netting him even more value than Markkanen. Pelicans can get a player more ready to contribute to a team on the hook for success in 25/26 (vs on a tanking team).

OK, have to do an intervention when comments get this wild.

Lauri is not a "distressed asset" while in Utah. He went from having a great value contract to being clearly overpaid, but there is a simple reason why Jazz overpaid him: they fit perfectly together right now. Lauri loves SLC and SLC loves him. He really values the quality of life and having a stable situation after being moved twice in short order.

Lauri is a clean living family man with Nordic looks, outdoorsy hobbies, a high school sweetheart wife and three kids (youngest was born during last season, which is why he made sure to block a midseason trade). Any wonder he fits as the face of the franchise in UTAH, where the Jazz needed someone the fans can take selfies with while the tanking team on the floor looks awful. He will not play enough games, or well enough (last season he was literally set up to fail) to hurt their lottery seeding. Ainge has no reason to trade him for any package he could realistically get. Even a Top 40 type of guy who is really happy to stay in Utah instead of yearning for beaches and booty calls is a rare find for the Jazz.

Zion is ... someone completely different, diametrically opposite you could say. Having a ready-made personal sponsorship deal would be the only argument for him fitting in Utah.

NOW, as a basketball sicko it is easy for me to say that Lauri should prioritize winning and Ainge should have traded him at peak value 2 years ago.
I would give a kidney to see Lauri playing proper basketball with Nuggets or Spurs or Pacers, but I am also an adult with enough common sense and understanding of business realities to see why things have gone this way.

You explain distressed to a T for Lauri. You are trying to argue that the kind of distressed makes Zion distressed and Lauri not. Wrong.

My neighbor and I have exact same house. Mine needs a new roof and his needs flooring throughout. Both are distressed assets. Value is lower than peak. Great for Lauri his value is distressed for reasons not the same disgusting reasons as Zion - but both distressed none the less

[MalonesElbows]

Some bored people trying to make news and drama out of nothing. Lauri played along for the tank last year. He is 28 years old and can do 23 ppg on 62% TS with his eyes closed.

[mg]

Some bored people trying to make news and drama out of nothing. Lauri played along for the tank last year. He is 28 years old and can do 23 ppg on 62% TS with his eyes closed.

So he purposely shot 34% from 3 last year.... Got it.

[Bornstellar]

Some bored people trying to make news and drama out of nothing. Lauri played along for the tank last year. He is 28 years old and can do 23 ppg on 62% TS with his eyes closed.

Interesting, considering he's only done it twice in his 8 year career

Not to mention this dude has never played more games in a year than he did in his rookie season (68). Pretty easy to see why he is not a sought after asset. Ainge sat on him for way too long. This headline is just saving face because they know no one wants him now

[cupcakesnake]

Lauri will probably have more value in a couple seasons when the cap goes up and his max extension feels smaller. Lots of teams- especially ones who already have strong playmaking- would love to add an elite finisher (THE FINNISHER) who gives you spacing and rim pressure with size. At 46m this year... that's simply a bit rich for most teams navigating the aprons.

It's really a shame, because Lauri just turned 28. He might not play meaningful NBA basketball until he's in the later stages of his career. He's never been to the playoffs.

at 32 years old he will get paid 53M....as a 2nd option...there is just not a lot of teams that is willing to pay this kind of money , especially teams that dont even have a first option.

I think I agree with you, but I guess we'll see how he's playing closer to age 32, and how we feel about 53m in the cap environment then.

In 2025, Lauri is the 21st best paid player in the NBA (tied with Siakam, Ant, and Haliburton). By the end of that contract, after many other people sign larger extensions, Lauri won't rank so high.

I think it's a no brainer that Lauri is currently viewed as a negative value contract. Whether or not that changes will depend on his play, and the cap environment. Like everyone in this thread has acknowledged, the Jazz are clearly not trading him for value right now.

[HMFFL]

Portland needed to make a play for Lauri and use Jerami Grant and include some assets.

It gives Jazz assets and another high dollar contract to hold until they can move Grant.

[Xatticus]

Lauri will probably have more value in a couple seasons when the cap goes up and his max extension feels smaller. Lots of teams- especially ones who already have strong playmaking- would love to add an elite finisher (THE FINNISHER) who gives you spacing and rim pressure with size. At 46m this year... that's simply a bit rich for most teams navigating the aprons.

It's really a shame, because Lauri just turned 28. He might not play meaningful NBA basketball until he's in the later stages of his career. He's never been to the playoffs.

I don't believe this really addresses the issue here. Unless I'm mistaken, Markkanen has never made any noise about wanting out. I'm fairly certain that he said he wanted to stay before the extension happened and while he was clearly being shopped.

Markkanen could be moved easily if that was the goal. The issue is that Ainge's asking price is always going to be above consensus opinion. So even though he'd obviously like to turn Markkanen into draft capital, that won't happen until Ainge gets a deal that he believes will earn him praise from the pundits. Perhaps Markkanen's trade value will rebound, but Ainge's asking price will respond commensurately.

I know they want to move him because this same leak keeps coming out. We don't need intermittent updates about the availability of players that aren't available.

[TrueFan420]

Is Markkanen okay with spending another year of his prime on a team that is basically tanking?

Absolutely, he knew exactly what would happen when he signed that deal.

[Celts17Pride]

Honestly I can’t comment on this because I have absolutely no clue what Ainge and Utah are doing in general

[meekrab]

"Ainge not interesting in taking a humiliating return for Lauri Markkanen"

[doogie_hauser]

I admittedly have not watched a lot of Lauri or the Jazz, but it just seems to be a not-so-special player on a team without direction or an identity.

Its pretty difficult to build a contending team in Utah given its one of the least desirable destinations for stars and potential Free Agents.

[djsunyc]

I admittedly have not watched a lot of Lauri or the Jazz, but it just seems to be a not-so-special player on a team without direction or an identity.

Its pretty difficult to build a contending team in Utah given its one of the least desirable destinations for stars and potential Free Agents.

true but they had a team that was pretty darn good that ainge tore apart. if he chose to add then maybe they wouldve broke through.

[Kawaii Leonard]

Wasting your prime like this has to mentally debilitating as a competitor

[Special_Puppy]

Ainge https://youtu.be/4stb_eAZ6Hs?si=AHL5bNMh5-iKV2Dy

[BigJimFinn]

Jazz instead of trading Markkanen as distressed asset for weak return (picks), swap him for another distressed asset.

Markkanen for Zion.

Let both have fresh starts. Ainge can gamble that Zion upside can be achieved netting him even more value than Markkanen. Pelicans can get a player more ready to contribute to a team on the hook for success in 25/26 (vs on a tanking team).

OK, have to do an intervention when comments get this wild.

Lauri is not a "distressed asset" while in Utah. He went from having a great value contract to being clearly overpaid, but there is a simple reason why Jazz overpaid him: they fit perfectly together right now. Lauri loves SLC and SLC loves him. He really values the quality of life and having a stable situation after being moved twice in short order.

Lauri is a clean living family man with Nordic looks, outdoorsy hobbies, a high school sweetheart wife and three kids (youngest was born during last season, which is why he made sure to block a midseason trade). Any wonder he fits as the face of the franchise in UTAH, where the Jazz needed someone the fans can take selfies with while the tanking team on the floor looks awful. He will not play enough games, or well enough (last season he was literally set up to fail) to hurt their lottery seeding. Ainge has no reason to trade him for any package he could realistically get. Even a Top 40 type of guy who is really happy to stay in Utah instead of yearning for beaches and booty calls is a rare find for the Jazz.

Zion is ... someone completely different, diametrically opposite you could say. Having a ready-made personal sponsorship deal would be the only argument for him fitting in Utah.

NOW, as a basketball sicko it is easy for me to say that Lauri should prioritize winning and Ainge should have traded him at peak value 2 years ago.
I would give a kidney to see Lauri playing proper basketball with Nuggets or Spurs or Pacers, but I am also an adult with enough common sense and understanding of business realities to see why things have gone this way.

You explain distressed to a T for Lauri. You are trying to argue that the kind of distressed makes Zion distressed and Lauri not. Wrong.

My neighbor and I have exact same house. Mine needs a new roof and his needs flooring throughout. Both are distressed assets. Value is lower than peak. Great for Lauri his value is distressed for reasons not the same disgusting reasons as Zion - but both distressed none the less

OK, I get your point that his TRADE ASSET VALUE is distressed by being clearly overpaid for what he could provide any other team. No argument against that. My argument is that for now, Utah has no need or reason to trade him, no matter how much I would wish they did. He provides most value for them specifically and despite the too high salary, there is no real opportunity cost on a tanking team where the second highest salary is Kyle Anderson at $9M and everybody else is on rookie contracts. There was a huge opportunity cost for not trading him earlier, but that is sunk now.

To me, distressed asset implies buy-low potential for something that can regain value if the distressing factors are fixed. That can apply to Zion, who has All-NBA talent and would offer great value if he was healthy, fit and focused, and some team could still fool themselves into believing they can fix that. I absolutely don't believe a tanking team in Utah is where Zion would suddenly discover his inner model professional.

Lauri never had the potential to be a true franchise player and #1 option worth a 30% max contract, and after 8 years there is no fixing his limitations. He is elite off-ball scorer and spacer with mediocre D and no playmaking, worth a #3 contract and would fit easily to any good team at $25M. Unfortunately the key factor distressing his value, being overpaid for the next 4 years, cannot be fixed, so the leaky roof analogy does not work. I don't see how the proposed Zion-Lauri trade could help either team, and that's why I argued against it.

[Wolveswin]

OK, have to do an intervention when comments get this wild.

Lauri is not a "distressed asset" while in Utah. He went from having a great value contract to being clearly overpaid, but there is a simple reason why Jazz overpaid him: they fit perfectly together right now. Lauri loves SLC and SLC loves him. He really values the quality of life and having a stable situation after being moved twice in short order.

Lauri is a clean living family man with Nordic looks, outdoorsy hobbies, a high school sweetheart wife and three kids (youngest was born during last season, which is why he made sure to block a midseason trade). Any wonder he fits as the face of the franchise in UTAH, where the Jazz needed someone the fans can take selfies with while the tanking team on the floor looks awful. He will not play enough games, or well enough (last season he was literally set up to fail) to hurt their lottery seeding. Ainge has no reason to trade him for any package he could realistically get. Even a Top 40 type of guy who is really happy to stay in Utah instead of yearning for beaches and booty calls is a rare find for the Jazz.

Zion is ... someone completely different, diametrically opposite you could say. Having a ready-made personal sponsorship deal would be the only argument for him fitting in Utah.

NOW, as a basketball sicko it is easy for me to say that Lauri should prioritize winning and Ainge should have traded him at peak value 2 years ago.
I would give a kidney to see Lauri playing proper basketball with Nuggets or Spurs or Pacers, but I am also an adult with enough common sense and understanding of business realities to see why things have gone this way.

You explain distressed to a T for Lauri. You are trying to argue that the kind of distressed makes Zion distressed and Lauri not. Wrong.

My neighbor and I have exact same house. Mine needs a new roof and his needs flooring throughout. Both are distressed assets. Value is lower than peak. Great for Lauri his value is distressed for reasons not the same disgusting reasons as Zion - but both distressed none the less

OK, I get your point that his TRADE ASSET VALUE is distressed by being clearly overpaid for what he could provide any other team. No argument against that. My argument is that for now, Utah has no need or reason to trade him, no matter how much I would wish they did. He provides most value for them specifically and despite the too high salary, there is no real opportunity cost on a tanking team where the second highest salary is Kyle Anderson at $9M and everybody else is on rookie contracts. There was a huge opportunity cost for not trading him earlier, but that is sunk now.

To me, distressed asset implies buy-low potential for something that can regain value if the distressing factors are fixed. That can apply to Zion, who has All-NBA talent and would offer great value if he was healthy, fit and focused, and some team could still fool themselves into believing they can fix that. I absolutely don't believe a tanking team in Utah is where Zion would suddenly discover his inner model professional.

Lauri never had the potential to be a true franchise player and #1 option worth a 30% max contract, and after 8 years there is no fixing his limitations. He is elite off-ball scorer and spacer with mediocre D and no playmaking, worth a #3 contract and would fit easily to any good team at $25M. Unfortunately the key factor distressing his value, being overpaid for the next 4 years, cannot be fixed, so the leaky roof analogy does not work. I don't see how the proposed Zion-Lauri trade could help either team, and that's why I argued against it.

I don’t think Zion is a fit in Utah. Lauri is for sure. Not sure anyone will pay the price Ainge needs until Lauri has a breakout season and healthy.

[zimpy27]

Some bored people trying to make news and drama out of nothing. Lauri played along for the tank last year. He is 28 years old and can do 23 ppg on 62% TS with his eyes closed.

Interesting, considering he's only done it twice in his 8 year career

Not to mention this dude has never played more games in a year than he did in his rookie season (68). Pretty easy to see why he is not a sought after asset. Ainge sat on him for way too long. This headline is just saving face because they know no one wants him now

He's been playing with his eyes open. That's the problem, once he learns to close his eyes his game is going to go to another level.

[DaddyCool19]

They really overpaid him. If you give him a raise on his last year and the longterm safety with that extension, they should've asked for a paycut. Dude is maybe making more than someone on a max deal, if you include the raise

[Mavrelous]

Ainge mismanaged the rebuild of the Jazz.
He cashed out on Gobert and Mitchell, but dragged it out too long, spent 2 year at pick #10 instead of bottoming out just to not sell at what he perceives as low price.
He now had to max Markannen, sold Sexton dirt cheap and spent the entirety of Walker Kessler cheap years on a rebuilding team that didn't succeed in landing any worthy cornerstone.
Just another example of teams squandering valuable years in no mans land...