Jazz Insider Hints at Plan to 'Lock Up' All-Star Lauri Markkanen
Despite the start of the regular season being over two months away, the Utah Jazz roster is most likely a finished product for the time being, according to Jazz beat writer Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Walden shared his opinion on ESPN 700's The Drive with Spence Checketts.
“Most of the main guys on the team that they view as potential building blocks for the future are signed for multiple years,” Walden said.
With the roster being penciled in for the 2022-23 season, the next major domino to fall should be keeping All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen in Salt Lake City long term. Walden feels like Utah is positioned to make that happen.
“They feel like they’re in a good position to lock up Lauri Markkanen for years to come,” Walden said. “They’re pretty well set up with cap space moving forward.”
Indeed, the Jazz should lock up Markkanen ASAP and not make the same mistake the Boston Celtics did with Jaylen Brown. Waiting proved to be costly, with Brown qualifying for a supermax deal in his contract year.
The supermax contract allows teams to re-sign qualified players to maximum five-year contracts worth up to 35% of the salary cap with an 8% increase each year. Players also have to be in the final year or two of their current deals to be eligible. Markkanen would be eligible for 30% of the salary cap if he makes All-NBA this year due to this season being his seventh year in the league.
Brown ended up signing a five-year extension worth $303.7 million. That’s an absurd amount of money for the second-best player on a team that didn’t make the finals.
Currently, the max numbers set to start the 2023-24 campaign for a player that has seven years experience (according to hoopsrumors.com) would be a five-year, $236.6 million contract. However, if Markkanen is trending to make the All-NBA during the season, then he could pump the breaks on an extension for now and hold out for a supermax contract.
Markkanen betting on himself would be risky because he’s under contract with his current deal through 2025. In this situation, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, considering a major injury would cost Markkanen generational wealth.
The best option for both parties is to get a max deal done sooner rather than later. The Jazz would get their All-Star still in his prime without having to risk paying out a contract similar to what the Celtics did with Brown.
On the other side, Markkanen locks up his money without worrying about an injury costing him dearly. Barring injury, Jazz fans know a max extension is coming, but we don’t know when.
Stay tuned.
Follow Inside The Jazz on Facebook and Twitter.
Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live-stream
