NBA Insider Gives Voice to Troubling Lauri Markkanen Question

What's next for Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen?

Mar 25, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen warms up before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

After an eventful summer, the Utah Jazz's path to relevance has become more transparent. Grabbing the headlines was extending Lauri Markkanen to five years, and just like that, the Jazz have an All-Star caliber player under team control for the long term.

So, solving one problem creates more questions in the future. Markkanen, who turned 27 in May, has yet to participate in a playoff game entering his eighth year in the league. As a player in the prime years of his career, will Markkanen have the patience to go through a rebuild? It's a fair question, and the topic was brought up on ESPN NBA Insider Zach Lowe's Podcast, The Lowe Post.

"The subplot there is -- how long is Markkanen going to wait in his prime on a team that is perpetually searching for the next set of young guys?" -- Zach Lowe

New Lowe Post mega-podcast: Around the NBA w/ @kpelton: Most Intriguing Players, teams we feel better/worse about today than in mid-July, leftover summer thoughts, some predictions, much more:

Spotify: https://t.co/px0C2LdBnm

Apple: https://t.co/urka2xmKLp

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) September 4, 2024

Lowe brings up a good point. Markkanen appears to be happy about the extension now, but what if Utah is still two or more years from being part of the playoff conversation? Whether Markkanen stays or goes past year one should hinge on the Jazz's outlook after the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.

Since parting ways with Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, Utah has accumulated plenty of undeveloped talent. To start the new season, Utah will have six rostered draft picks who are either 20 or 19 years old. It's unrealistic to hit a home run on all six players, and developing just a couple into difference-makers would bode well for Markkanen sticking with the Jazz.

There's also the 2025 draft class, which is projected to be loaded with face-of-the-franchise type players, led by Duke's Cooper Flagg. If Utah can tank its way to a top-5 selection, the odds of Markkanen staying in Salt Lake City would also increase.

The Jazz may need to get creative if they're going to land in the top-5. Where the roster stands today, there's enough rostered talent to beat the bottom dwellers and the online bookies agree. The oddsmakers are projecting Utah to win 29-30 games this season, and if that prediction holds true, the Jazz will most likely be drafting at the back end of the lottery.

It's unlikely that Utah will have the best odds of winning the Flagg sweepstakes, but they'll be bad enough to get a swing at a top pick. Lowe sees Utah having the fifth or sixth-worst record in the league.

"I could see the Jazz thinking, hey look, we might not be able to out-tank Brooklyn. [You’re] certainly not going to out-tank Washington or Portland — whatever. We could be the fifth or sixth worst team and take our shot at it under the revised lottery odds." -- Zach Lowe

This is a big year for Markkanen and the Jazz. If Utah's trajectory to relevance doesn't improve, then the Jazz could certainly reset and trade Markkanen in the summer of 2025. I'm sure that's not the plan now, but the Jazz are positioned to pivot if the rebuild takes longer than planned.

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