Report Suggets the Hawks are a Suitor for Utah Jazz Forward Lauri Markkanen

Atlanta is 9-14 and on a five-game losing streak amidst growing trade rumors

It is trade rumor season in the NBA and things are heating up. 

Most of the trade rumors involving the Atlanta Hawks have involved Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, but there is potentially a new target for the Hawks according to a new report from Yahoo Sports Jack Fischer. 

While Fischer does mention Siakam as still being a trade target for the Hawks, Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen is the latest name to be thrown around in trade conversations. 

Here is what Fischer had to say about the potential of Markkanen being on the trade market: 

"Lauri Markkanen has indeed emerged as a fascinating, albeit unlikely trade candidate before February’s buzzer. The Jazz held designs of further competing in the Western Conference after Markkanen emerged as an All-Star in his first season in Salt Lake City, league sources told Yahoo Sports, as Utah engaged Portland about acquiring Damian Lillard and then Jrue Holiday before this season tipped. Moving on from Markkanen would mark a stark change of direction from trying to add an All-NBA caliber point guard to run Utah’s offense alongside Markkanen’s versatile skill set.

But Markkanen’s status already has and will continue generating significant buzz around the league if Utah continues entertaining rivals’ inquiries. It would be front-office malpractice not to at least understand what it would take to land Markkanen. League personnel believe three teams in particular value the Finnish forward at this preliminary stage of trade conversations. Two of those apparent suitors, Sacramento and Atlanta, make sense, considering the Kings’ and Hawks’ respective approaches for Siakam. The third team league personnel continue mentioning to watch for a potential Markkanen approach is Oklahoma City, suddenly second in the West with a trove of first-round picks.

Pascal Siakam vs the Hawks / Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

“Do I expect Utah to trade Lauri? No,” another general manager told Yahoo Sports. “But they are saying they’re willing to listen. They are willing to listen to calls on everyone, but it’s a matter of meeting their price like Minnesota did for Rudy [Gobert].”

I doubt that Utah would trade Markkanen and I also doubt that the Hawks have enough to get a deal done with for him. Atlanta could pull off a trade for Siakam due to him being older and on an expiring contract. Markkanen is already signed and is an emerging young star forward. Atlanta just does not have the picks to get a potential deal done for him and would almost certainly have to trade Jalen Johnson, which I am sure they do not want to do. 

When it comes to Siakam, here is what Fischer had to say about that situation:

Since the offseason, the Hawks have been the suitor most connected to Siakam, and Atlanta personnel witnessed a perfect glimpse of what the 29-year-old forward is capable of Wednesday night, when Siakam posted 33 points, seven boards and seven assists in a win over the visitors. The Hawks held serious discussions with the Raptors on acquiring Siakam this past summer, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Atlanta also pursued trade scenarios for swingman De’Andre Hunter that included talks with the Pacers and Pistons around June’s NBA Draft. The Hawks stand as one of the more intriguing franchises to monitor as the trade deadline approaches, with plenty of optionality to choose different paths forward under a new leadership structure with general manager Landry Fields and head coach Quin Snyder in their first full season in Atlanta, which is still 9-14 in the Eastern Conference.

These next couple of months are going to be something to monitor for the Hawks. If they continue to lose, this team might look very different in February. 

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