Utah Jazz's 'Biggest Win' of 2024 NBA Offseason Revealed

The Utah Jazz made some forward progress during their moves this summer.

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 are coming off an offseason in which they didn't make any totally drastic changes to their rotation or depth chart for the coming year, this team still made some critical decisions for the future of this rebuild.

Of those moves the Jazz made this summer, the biggest of the bunch arises to be their decision to re-sign their franchise cornerstone, Lauri Markkanen. After bursting onto the scene as an All-Star caliber player in his two seasons since the Donovan Mitchell trade, Utah clearly wants to keep his presence in the fold for the long-haul, and did exactly that by re-negotiating and extending his contract for the next five years.

Despite being involved in numerous trade rumors this summer with several teams, the Jazz front office elected to bring back Markkanen, and it seems to be a move well-reciprocated across the media.

When detailing Utah's biggest win of the offseason, Bleacher Report's Dan Favale labeled theirs as the choice to iron out a new deal with Markkanen, effectively giving them the flexibility to make a big-time acquisition to compete, or end up going the draft and develop route with their young core:

"Whatever you think of the money, extending and renegotiating Markkanen's deal affords the Utah Jazz plenty of latitude... Footing this bill for an All-Star who will wrap up his age-31 campaign by the end of it is totally fine. Better still, the Jazz now don't have to worry about complicating his future in the context of their rebuild. If they want to accelerate their timeline with a big swing on the trade market, they know he'll be around. And if they want to follow a more gradual course, they don't have to worry about disenchanting him with too many Lauri-plus-kids arrangements not built to win."

- Dan Favale, Bleacher Report

While the move to extend Markkanen instead of shipping him out for more assets had a few skeptics, considering there didn't seem to be an offer close to Utah's ask for their All-Star talent, it was the right direction to go. The Jazz can find routes to develop young talent while keeping Markkanen in the mix, while still keeping its premier talent in the building.

The outlook for next season is still unpredictable, but the Jazz obtained some added and necessary security for their future with Markkanen's new deal. In what's expected to be a year where Utah prioritizes its young pieces, the wins may not be piling up for their regular season record, but this was a massive win for a squad retooling for contention as soon as possible.

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