Why the Hawks Should Not Make the Same Mistake Again and Trade For Lauri Markkanen

The Utah Jazz are reportedly listening to offers for star forward Lauri Markkannen

Feb 3, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward/center Lauri Markkanen (23) takes a layup around Atlanta Hawks forward/center Onyeka Okongwu (17) during the second half at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports / Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports

One of the biggest trades that has gone down so far during this NBA offseason happened on Friday night, when the Atlanta Hawks sent Dejounte Murray to New Orleans for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance, and two first round picks. It was an inevitable decision that the Hawks had to make between Murray and Trae Young and the Hawks front office has seemingly made their choice.

With the moves the Hawks have made this week, they are constructing a better roster around Young, something they had not done up to this point in his career or at least since making the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. The Hawks got valuable picks for the 2025 and 2027 drafts that they did not have, plus added one of the NBA's best young defenders in Daniels, a perfect complement to Young in the backcourt. Atlanta drafted Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, further showing their plan to add defense and size this offseason. It seems like the Hawks have a plan in place for their roster and they are not done adding pieces just yet.

What they should not do though is rush through this again and try to make another big trade. That was what they did when they traded for Dejounte Murray back in the summer of 2022 and they can't risk doing it again. Atlanta made two crucial mistakes that summer and they were 1) rushing and thinking they were closer to contending than they really were and 2) trading for the wrong player in Murray. Murray is a good player on his own but he was a bad fit next to Young and the Hawks overpaid for him.

Yesterday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Utah Jazz are listening to trade offers for All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen.

REPORT: The Jazz are willing to listen to trade offers for Lauri Markkanen, per @wojespn. pic.twitter.com/w0i0mGezJr

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 29, 2024

This summer, there have not been any reports linking the Hawks to Markkanen yet this summer, but he has been mentioned as a potential trade target before. Back in December, Yahoo Sports Jake Fischer had this to say about a potential Markkanen trade and mentioned Atlanta:

"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."

The consensus has been that Utah might not move Markkanen unless they get a massive offer and those are usually the kinds of deals that Danny Ainge makes. Markkanen is going into the last year of his deal and is expected to land a massive contract extension. If Utah does not want to give him that contract, they might try to move him for the right deal. He might be the top player on the trade market and it has been a remarkable career turnaround for Markkanen. After being a solid but not great player with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers, Markkanen has been an All-Star with the Jazz. This season, the 7'0 forward averaged 23.2 PPG and 8.2 RPG while shooting 48% from the field and 40% from three. He is one of the game's best offensive players and it would be easy to see why teams would want him.

While I do thnk that Markkanen is a better fit for the Hawks than what Murray was, Atlanta would have to overpay for him and use up the rest of their assets to land him. It would likely cost the Hawks the Lakers pick they acquired in 2025, the 2027 pick they acquired in the New Orleans trade, and their own picks starting in 2028. Atlanta would be making the same mistake that they made two summers ago when they traded for Murray. Markkanen is a good player, but he is not going to turn the Hawks into a Finals contender overnight. If the Hawks acquired him, they would still be behind Boston and New York in the Eastern Conference and depending on what Philadelphia and Milwaukee do, they might be behind them. Markkanen gives them size and shooting, but his defense is not his strong point. He would no doubt be a prolific offensive player alongside Trae Young, but the only way massive trades like this work is if you are a Finals contender and I don't think Markkanen does that.

The bottom of the Eastern Conference makes it to where Atlanta should be a play-in team with their current roster and it could even be a top six seed if things break the right way. This is a better roster around Young and all of the pieces fit better, much like the conference finals team in 2021. I am not saying that this team will do that, but the team structure makes more sense than the past two seasons. There are still moves for the Hawks to make this offseason, including potential deals for Clint Capela, Larry Nance, and possibly De'Andre Hunter. the Hawks should continue to add the right pieces to their team, but making a blockbuster offer for Lauri Markkanen should not be one of those moves. Atlanta should stay patient and continue to build their roster, which they have done this offseason. It seems like Atlanta finally has a plan to build a roster around Young and they should not hit the accelerator on it too early again.