The fact that forward Lauri Markkanen has raised his stock as a player in two seasons with the Utah Jazz is beyond debate.
Since coming over to the Jazz in the Cleveland Cavaliers' trade for guard Donovan Mitchell, Markkanen has raised his career scoring average by nearly three full points per game. In 2023, the Vantaa, Finland native made an All-Star team and was voted the league's Most Improved Player.
Precisely how much Markkanen has improved in the eyes of the league appears set to be tested this summer.
According to Tony Jones of The Athletic, Utah would want a king's ransom for its star in a hypothetical trade.
“Markkanen’s value to the Jazz is so great that it’s going to take an offer that is probably not going to come to pry him from the Jazz," Jones wrote Friday. "Something like four or five first-round picks, and a star-level talent coming over.”
Essentially, per Jones, the Jazz are looking for an offer similar to what they commanded for Mitchell—three players, three first-round picks, and two pick swaps. It's cleat that team executive Danny Ainge is looking to continue to accumulate capital to accelerate the franchise's rebuild.
Markkanen will turn 27 on May 22—whether he is deemed young enough (and good enough) to tempt teams to acquire him at a sky-high asking price remains to be seen.
