Jazz Made Big Mistake With Lauri Markkanen, NBA Analyst Claims

Maybe this comes back to haunt the Utah Jazz. But we doubt it.

Oct 15, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) reacts to a play against the Sacramento Kings during the second quarter at Delta Center. / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

This past summer, Utah Jazz fans couldn't go 30 seconds without hearing or seeing a new Lauri Markkanen trade rumor. The 7-footer was linked throughout the NBA trade rumor mill, with heavy reporting tying him to the Golden State Warriors.

However, the Jazz didn't bite. And although it was an opportunity for Jazz CEO Danny Ainge to double down on a rebuild, Markkanen stayed in Utah.

Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz thinks that was a mistake, though, writing about why the Markkanen-to-Warriors trade should have happened.

"This was also the perfect time for the Jazz to dive head-first into a rebuild and a shot at a top draft pick in a loaded 2025 class. Hovering between 31 and 37 wins the past few seasons has resulted in two missed postseasons and no draft pick higher than No. 9 overall.

"Trading Markkanen to Golden State would have given Stephen Curry a true No. 2 scoring option, allowed the Warriors at least a chance at winning another title and allowed the Jazz to tank and have a better shot at Cooper Flagg," Swartz wrote.

For those agonizing over whether a Markkanen trade to Golden State could still happen, look no further than the five-year, $238 million extension the Jazz gave him back in August and its timing. It put the kybosh on Markkanen's potential mobility this season.

"Had he agreed to this on the first day he was eligible (August 6), then he could have been traded by the February 6 deadline... By waiting one more day to sign the extension, the six-month, no-trade window takes the 27-year-old past the deadline, making him ineligible to be dealt until the 2025 offseason. This wasn't done by mistake.

"Maybe the Jazz will still be bad enough to land a top draft pick, but Markkanen doesn't fit the timeline of Cody Williams (19), Keyonte George (20), Taylor Hendricks (20), Kyle Filipowski (20) and the rest of the young core... A trade would have been best for Markkanen, the Jazz and the Warriors," Swartz wrote.

At the end of the day, the Jazz are trying to have their cake and eat it, too. The team is, in fact, rebuilding on the fly, but Utah is also striving to give head coach Will Hardy the tools to field a plausibly competitive squad.

For every NBA team amidst a rebuild, eventually the competitive pendulum swings and the door is kicked wide open. Holding onto Markkanen, and extending him, was a sign that the Jazz believe they're a little bit closer to that critical-mass moment happening than perhaps many in the media think.

At the very least, with productive draft classes in back-to-back years, the Jazz are setting arranging the board to be competitive in 2024-25, even if it does end up taking a bit longer for things to come to fruition. For now, though, Warriors fans can only eat their hearts out wishing Markkanen could have been swooped out of Utah.

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