New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Idea Sends Lauri Markkanen to Heat, Jazz Get Andrew Wiggins

Although it's always difficult to predict exactly how the offseason will affect the upcoming NBA season, it seems clear that the Eastern Conference is going to be up for grabs. The Indiana Pacers won the conference last year in one of the most surprising championship runs in recent memory, but they are going to be without Tyrese Haliburton for the year. The Boston Celtics have always been a force in the Eastern Conference, but Jayson Tatum went down with an Achilles injury in the second round and will miss the upcoming season. The Bucks made a big move to add Myles Turner, but they had to cut Damian Lillard to do it. In short, the only three teams that seem to be locks for postseason returns are the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers. That leaves an opportunity for several teams to take advantage.

The Atlanta Hawks are certainly doing their best to seize that opportunity. After trading for Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis and drafting Georgia power forward Asa Newell, Atlanta reached a pair of huge free agent signings. The Hawks signed a marquee free agent in Wolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker to a four-year, $62 million deal in a sign and trade that sent a 2027 2nd-round pick (via CLE) to the Wolves. Then, the Hawks signed free agent guard Luke Kennard to a one-year, $11 million deal. They also got an unprotected first-round pick from the New Orleans Pelicans in a draft-night trade. Given the massive injuries in the Eastern Conference next season, it seems that the Atlanta Hawks are going for it and making moves to put themselves in position to contend. One area they could still use some depth is at small forward or another ball-handler.

Outside of essentially getting Norman Powell from the Clippers for free, the Miami Heat haven't made a ton of significant moves in free agency. They snuck into the playoffs last year after eliminating the Hawks from the play-in tournament, but there's reason to believe things will be harder this year even with the expected declines from the Celtics and Pacers. Miami got completely out-classed by Cleveland in the first round of the 2025 playoffs - they need to add more scoring and two-way contributors that can survive in the playoffs if they want to make it back to the NBA Finals after their run in 2023. They've struggled to acclimate to the departure of Jimmy Butler and it may be time to make another star acquisition to complement Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro.

That player could be Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen. Markkanen was one of the hottest names on the trade market last summer before inking a five-year, $238 million dollar deal to remain in Utah. However, the Jazz are still going through the rebuilding process and don't seem to be close to maximizing Markkanen's skillset with their current roster. If they received the right offer for Markkanen, they should consider moving him.

So how about a trade where each of these teams tries to fill a need?

It should be noted that this is just a speculative and fun exercise to see what kind of moves can be made, not what I think the Hawks or any other teams should do or will do. That is all.

Hawks Receive: Svi Mykhailiuk

Heat Receive: Lauri Markkanen, KJ Martin

Jazz Receive: Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier, Jaime Jaquez Jr, 2029 1st-round pick (unprotected, via MIA), 2031 1st-round pick (top-5 protected, via MIA), 2031 2nd round pick (via ATL/HOU, from ATL)

Why the Hawks would do this deal: Mykhailiuk is a solid bench wing who averaged 8.8 points per game and shot 80% from the charity stripe. He competes hard on both ends and has championship experience from his time with the Celtics. The Hawks seem to placing a premium on playoff experience by bringing in a championship contributor in Kristaps Porzingis and a playoff rotation player in Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Adding veterans with that type of experience is helpful for Atlanta and Mykhailiuk would be very cheap to get.

Why the Hawks would not do this deal: It's possible that the Hawks would prioritize minutes for rookie Asa Newell and Vit Krejci over the possiblity of bringing in another veteran forward and Mykhailiuk is signed through the next three years. Even though it's a miniscule amount, his contract would cut into the flexibility the Hawks are trying to preserve for a Dyson Daniels extension and possibly, a new Trae Young deal.

Why the Heat would do this deal: Markkanen was one of the most desirable players after the 2023-24 season due to a fantastic season where he averaged 23.2 points and 8.2 rebounds on 63% TS, 40% from three on eight attempts per game and 41.4 percent on catch-and-shoot threes. Even his down season last year still yielded 19 points and 5.9 rebounds on 42.3/34.6/87.6 shooting splits despite struggling with injuries for most of the year. He's a massive wing who can line up at either SF or PF, firmly in his prime at 28 years old and he's already signed for the next four seasons. That's extremely enticing to a team like Miami, who can run massive lineups that feature the Ke'el Ware/Bam Adebayo double big look and Markkanen as a ridicously oversized seven-foot SF. Very few teams have the size to match up against such a big lineup. It would be tight, but the Heat should have the assets and cap space to accomodate Markkanen's massive deal at least for the next two seasons. Martin has bounced around from team to team, but Miami has been able to get the most out of players with his archetype. He's a 6'6 forward without much of a shooting touch, but he plays hard on defense and has lined up as a small-ball center before.

Why the Heat would not do this deal: They don't have many tradeable firsts outside of these two picks and this is a very hefty deal to add to their salary cap. Herro will be up for an extension next year and Adebayo is already on an expensive deal of his own. That's even before considering the math for a Norman Powell deal should he play well with Miami.

Why the Jazz would do this deal: In absence of Rozier's current legal situation, his deal is a great expiring contract that could either get flipped at the deadline or expire without any long-term risk to Utah's books. Wiggins is a great replacement for Markkanen in the sense that he can play the PF role and boost his offensive production to make him a compelling candidate to get flipped at the trade deadline or offseason mark. Even though he wasn't a perfect fit in Miami, he still averaged 19 points, 4 rebounds and 3.3 assists on 45.8/36/73.1% shooting splits. He'd also be a great mentor for Ace Bailey, who the Jazz recently took with the fifth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Additionally, Utah would clear a ton of future cap space from their books and improve their future flexibility. They also land two lightly protected first rounders to be utilized in their rebuild.

Why the Jazz would not do this deal: Miami doesn't usually give out very valuable first-rounders because they consistently make the playoffs, so their picks tend to be less valuable. Furthermore, Markkanen is their most established player and they may want a package closer to what Desmond Bane got than what Miami is putting on the table.

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