Report: Kings View Keegan Murray Higher Than Jazz’s Lauri Markkanen

The Utah Jazz trade deadline whispers are continuing to shake out.

Leading up to the deadline, many around the league had a few developments on the potential availability of Utah Jazz All-Star Lauri Markkanen. While it seemed a bit unlikely, teams in need of a co-star looked towards Utah in hopes of acquiring the forward to help their odds at a championship push.

One of those teams coveting another All-Star to the roster is the Sacramento Kings. They just recently entered and exited the sweepstakes for Pascal Siakam this past week, indicating their front office will be a bit aggressive across the coming weeks.

However, while Sacramento may be ready to add another star on board, it won’t be in exchange for their young star, Keegan Murray.

Kings insider James Ham spoke on the recent rumors surrounding Murray with HoopsHype, voicing that the team views him as a future star without any intention to trade him for a guy like Markkanen:

"They view him as a star. I’ve had conversations within the walls. I asked the question, would you trade him for Lauri Markkanen last season? The answer was 'No. We believe he’ll be better than Markkanen.' So that should tell you everything that you need to know about what they feel about him as a player."

Murray has had a stellar year as the third option for the Kings next to De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. Within his sophomore season, he has played 33 games, averaging 16.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.6 assists on 46.7/37.2/82.5 splits. His impact on both ends of the floor makes Keegan one of the brightest young stars in the league, as well as the perfect pairing next to Sacramento’s All-NBA pairing.

From the perspective of the Jazz, this doesn’t change a ton from considering Markkanen was going nowhere this season to begin with. Utah views Lauri as a cornerstone piece to their team-building process, with no interest in moving him unless the return is immense.

Instead, Utah could look to work around the edges rather than conduct another roster reset. The Jazz have won 12 of their last 16 games, only sitting a half-game back from the final Play-In spot in the West. By making a few minor moves to round out this rotation, reaching a playoff berth may not be that far out of reach.

With the deadline getting nearer and nearer, expect increasing rumors to heat up. However, don’t anticipate any move involving the Jazz All-Star anytime soon.

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