Day: August 7, 2024

The Utah Jazz listened to trade offers on Lauri Markkanen over the past few months, but were never presented an offer that led them to seriously consider actually moving forward with a deal.

The Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder were among the teams to engage the Jazz on Markkanen. The Warriors were reportedly the most seriously engaged team on Markkanen, but Brandin Podziemski was a sticking point in talks.

The Jazz signed Markkanen to a renegotiate and extend deal on Wednesday that will make him ineligible to be traded for the duration of the 24-25 season.

The Utah Jazz and Lauri Markkanen have agreed to a five-year, $238 million deal after they renegotiated and extended his current deal. Markkanen is ineligible to be traded this season.

Markkanen was the subject of trade rumors this offseason, but the Jazz instead will retain him for at least one additional season. The Jazz were never presented an offer for Markkanen that they seriously entertained.

The Jazz could reassess Markkanen’s trade value next offseason on an extension when the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and possibly even the Oklahoma City Thunder could have interest.

“Lauri’s ability to score in multiple ways and his versatility as a player makes our team better,” said Jazz CEO of Basketball Danny Ainge. “He embodies our team’s core values on and off the court. We’re glad that he wants to be a part of our future and what we’re building here in Utah.”

“Lauri’s combination of size, skill, and shooting is really unique, and he’s proved he’s an All-Star level player with his improvement over the past two seasons,” said Jazz General Manager Justin Zanik. “We’re excited that he shares the same vision of what our team can be long-term and to have him not only as a building block for the Jazz, but also as a member of the Utah community for years to come, is huge.”

The Golden State Warriors were very interested in trading for Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz, but that ship seems to have sailed. Despite still being interested in making a move, don’t expect the Warriors to trade for a big name. That includes Brandon Ingram of the New Orleans Pelicans or Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls.

Golden State is still looking at ways to upgrade the roster, have shown no interest in either of the high-priced veterans. The Warriors may now go into the season with their draft picks and young players and look for a trade before February’s deadline.

The Pelicans have been rumored to be looking at deals for Brandon Ingram, as they need to rebalance their roster. Ingram is also in the final season of his contract and is rumored to be looking for a max or near-max deal. New Orleans seemingly has no interest in paying Ingram anywhere near that amount, and has explored the trade market for the veteran wing.

LaVine has been available since before last season’s trade deadline. The Bulls haven’t been able to find a taker for the veteran guard and the $138 million left on his contract over the next three seasons. This situation appears to be destined to go into the season, as well.