New Team Emerges With Trade Interest for Jazz's Lauri Markkanen

The Utah Jazz are getting no shortage of calls for their All-Star forward.

Dec 31, 2022; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward/center Lauri Markkanen (23) bumps into Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) before a shot during the second half at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports / Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports

The Lauri Markkanen chatter continues to surround the Utah Jazz as we navigate through the NBA offseason.

With most of the top trade and free agency candidates of this summer settled into their new homes, all eyes are focused on the Jazz forward with hopes of a blockbuster deal developing in the coming weeks. Several teams around the league have already been revealed to have interest in the 27-year-old, but more names have begun to enter the fold.

When discussing potential trade partners for Markkanen, ESPN's Zach Lowe listed a couple of familiar names we've seen before, but also name-dropped the Miami Heat being a potential suitor for the All-Star forward:

"A pile of teams have shown interest in him, including the San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings, Miami Heat and Warriors, sources said. History suggests Danny Ainge, Utah's CEO, will move Markkanen once someone meets his price. That could be tomorrow or months from now if the Jazz raise Markkanen's salary and then sign him to a contract extension once they are allowed to do so in early August."

- Zach Lowe, ESPN

It's no secret that squads such as the Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, and Golden State Warriors have registered interest in Markkanen, but now it seems that the Heat are trying their hand at entering the Danny Ainge sweepstakes.

Miami was active on the trade market last offseason during their ultimately unsuccessful Damian Lillard endeavor, and they could now have another shot at securing another star in South Beach with the right offer. However, we know how Ainge operates in these trade discussions, so it could be easier said than done for something to come to form.

When compared to other suitors, it's hard for the Heat to stack up in terms of assets. They don't have ownership of their first-round picks in 2025 and 2027, and their top young talent doesn't match up with the rest of the field. If the Jazz wanted to maximize their value on Markkanen, the Heat may not be the team to do business with.

Markkanen is coming off another strong season in Salt Lake City, averaging 23.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists on 48.0/39.9/89.9 splits. For a versatile, seven-foot forward sitting in the middle of his prime, Utah is going to need a haul in return to make it worthwhile, but it remains to be seen if an opposing team is willing to cough that up.

Expect talks to continue on Markkanen as we get closer to early August when the window finally opens for him and Utah to negotiate an extension.

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