Jazz Execs Release Message Amid Lauri Markkanen's New Extension

The Utah Jazz higher-ups dropped their thoughts on their All-Star's newest contract.

Mar 25, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) looks to move the ball against the Dallas Mavericks during the third quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

The Utah Jazz finally came to terms with their All-Star forward on Wednesday as they locked in Lauri Markkanen to a fresh five-year, $238 million renegotiation and extension to stick in Salt Lake City for the long haul.

After numerous trade rumors engulfed Markkanen's name across the recent months of the 2024 offseason, the 27-year-old can effectively put that persistent chatter to rest for now and focus on being a building block of this exciting Jazz future.

Accompanied by the Markkanen contract being announced on Wednesday, we saw a couple of Utah executives come to drop in their thoughts on the latest signing as well.

In a release from the Jazz, CEO Danny Ainge expressed his excitement about the deal finally coming to form for Markkanen, crediting his value on and off the floor that made this contract a no-brainer:

"Lauri's ability to score in multiple ways and his versatility as a player makes our team better. 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."

- Danny Ainge, Utah Jazz CEO

Jazz general manager Justin Zanik also sounded off on the latest extension on Markkanen, sharing the same excitement with Ainge to keep their All-Star in the fold:

"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. 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 a member of the Utah community for years to come, is huge."

- Justin Zanik, Utah Jazz general manager

Markkanen has made his intentions clear of loving Utah and wanting to hammer out a new deal as soon as he can, and that's exactly what transpired once the opportunity arose. As soon as the Jazz's August 6th extension window opened for him, both sides quickly came to terms on a near-max extension for the next five years, inking his services until the 2029 offseason.

Markkanen coming off another effective season in Utah since arriving in 2022, posting 23.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists on efficient 48.0/39.9/89.9 shooting splits. At just 27 years old and now entering the prime of his career, the former top-ten pick will have several good years lying ahead of him, and those all look to be set right here in Salt Lake City.

Keeping that elite production in-house will be huge for the Jazz moving forward as they continue to fill out their young core and keep building this roster to a serious threat in the Western Conference. The process won't be simple, but it gets a whole lot easier with Markkanen in the mix.

---

Follow Inside The Jazz on Facebook and Twitter/X, and subscribe to YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live streams!