NBA trade rumors: New destinations looming for Lauri Markkanen and why a trade may take longer

We have several teams competing for Lauri Markkanen in a potential trade and we got some more information today. Another team to watch in the Lauri Markkanen sweepstakes, according to Jack Lowe, Miami Heat.

From Lowe’s latest excerpt:

Trading Lauri Markkanen would buy Utah a one-way ticket to the front of the tank line, and Markkanen actually now stands alongside Mikal Bridges in New York as the league’s most intriguing trade chip. Sources said several teams, including the San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings, Miami Heat and Warriors, have expressed interest in him. History shows that Utah CEO Danny Ainge will move Markkanen if someone meets his price. It could happen tomorrow or a few months from now if the Jazz raise Markkanen’s salary and sign him to a contract extension if allowed to do so in early August.

Utah can do this because they have the cap space. Most of the teams interested in Markkanen were exhausted and thus could not pursue him upon acquiring him. It’s possible that Markkanen’s trade value would be higher if the Jazz extend him first, which would provide protection for interested teams.

Either way, Utah can’t keep this going, where they’re sneaky for two months before the front office pulls the plug and they end up going around No. 10.

I’m sure the Ainge/Riley rivalry is probably a little overblown, but that might make a trade with the Heat impossible. Additionally, the Miami Heat have a large portion of their future draft capital tied up in other trades with protection, so they do not appear to be able to meet the price set by Danny Ainge. Still, it’s interesting that they’re throwing their hat in the ring, even if they seem to be doing the same with every potential trade chip out there.

Mark Stein explained some of the reasons the trade may take longer than expected as well as the teams currently interested in Markkanen.

First, he recaps the teams we’ve heard about trying to trade for the Utah Jazz forward.

The three main things I’ve heard in reporting on the ongoing desire for a field call from teams interested in Utah’s highly coveted forward Lauri Markkanen are… the recent aggressive effort by Golden State to acquire him and the moves from Sacramento, San After discussions with other teams such as San Antonio, Miami and New Orleans

But Steen added that Markkanen would have to wait until August 6 to renegotiate if the Jazz wanted to do so, but that could be an advantage for Utah.

The Jazz can’t use more than $30 million of their projected salary cap space to renegotiate and extend Markkanen’s contract through August 6, so Utah will have to keep taking every call and listening for pitches in the interim. Is encouraged. That approach causes no direct harm. It also generates a lot of good intelligence for them. The Jazz were always going to do this with Danny Ainge as CEO, even if they were serious about keeping Markkanen.

It may also be difficult for Utah to trade him now that he is not tied down to a long-term deal.

More than one rival team has shared the observation that it would be difficult for the Jazz to trade him in the short term – even if they wanted to – as Markkanen is entering the final season of his current contract at just $18 million. This obviously complicates the Jazz’s efforts to obtain a trade package in exchange for Markkanen at the level of Brooklyn’s race for Mikal Bridges when Markkanen is not under team control for more than a season and when his salary is relatively It is less. He has a better chance to command a Bridges-style offer filled with future draft picks, like the one the New York Nets have agreed to offer if the 27-year-old Markkanen is signed to an extension.

That doesn’t mean a trade can’t happen, but it does mean that whoever trades for him will probably want a guaranteed re-signing as was the case with Pascal Siakam and the Indiana Pacers.

He reports that a team that has shown interest in Markkanen is confident they will trade him due to the difficulty in acquiring Tier 1 type players, which is more likely in the next few drafts.

At least one team that has shown interest in Markkanen is expressing confidence that the Jazz will indeed trade Markkanen in the near future, even if they extend him… and despite the fact that the 7-foot Finn, all According to accounts, wanted to live in Salt Lake City. Reason according to the team consulted: The challenges faced so far in getting top level players to play with them. This could make the trade route more attractive… especially given the projected strength of the NBA’s 2025 and 2026 drafts.

Finally, Steen talks about what trading Markkanen next season means and whether it is risky for Utah.

Another interesting and incredibly important problem here: Next season’s trade deadline is February 6 – eight days before the start of All-Star Weekend (February 14-16) in San Francisco.

This is extremely important because Markkanen cannot be traded for six months after signing an extension in Utah.

Six months after 6th August comes 6th February.

Translation: It appears, after checking with the league office, that Markkanen will only be eligible to be traded for one day next season — let alone on Feb. 6 and Feb. 6 — if he immediately inks an extension with the Jazz in August. goes. 6. If an extension occurs on or after August 7, Markkanen will not be eligible for a trade until after the 2024–25 season.

So if the draft is your plan, would you re-negotiate Markkanen now and then plan to trade him on the exact date of February 6th? This is risking a decision that will have huge implications for the future of the team. What happens if Markkanen gets injured? What if he has a bad season? What if he demands a specific team? All of this makes this a serious situation and it’s not something Utah can sit back and watch like it has the last two seasons.

At some point Utah will have to make a firm decision about the future and move forward, risking things will not help.