Could Lauri Markkanen be the Brooklyn Nets' Missing Piece?

Lauri Markkanen can be a key player in bringing playoff basketball back to Brooklyn.

Mar 31, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (center) sits on the bench before the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

According to CBS Sports' Sam Quinn, Lauri Markannenn could be on the move this summer and not return to the Utah Jazz, especially given the 2023 first-time All-Star will have his contract expire in 2025. Last season, Markannen averaged 23.2 points and 8.2 rebounds on 48% shooting from the field to go with 40% accuracy from downtown.

With the 27-year-old as the number option this year, the Jazz finished with a record of 31-51, missing out on the playoffs as a 12th seed. In the 2022-23 campaign, Utah finished as the 12th seed again, but was only a game back from the 2024 Western Conference Champions Dallas Mavericks and three games back from the 2023-24 first-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. That's quite the ask for Markannen to keep the Jazz afloat as the number one option alongside more youthful players, which makes it all more interesting to see how he would do alongside the Nets and their more experienced players.

At this moment, the Jazz forward finds himself in one of the elite categories of players that averaged at least 20 points on at least 40% shooting from three. The spacing with Markannen in Brooklyn's starting lineup would be immaculate. This is exactly the player the Chicago Bulls were looking for all along when they traded for him on draft night, but he wasn't quite there yet upon arriving on the Bulls.

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