NBA Trade Idea Ships Utah Jazz's Lauri Markkanen to East Contender

Despite any trade chatter and buzz that may have revolved around the Utah Jazz and Lauri Markkanen, to this point, there's been no movement on the Jazz's feelings on any idea of a move for their star forward. While it's not totally out of the cards, this front office would need to be wowed by a deal to truly pull the trigger.

But that hasn't stopped the trade ideas from popping up linking Markkanen as a trade fit to various potential suitors. Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley is the latest to take a stab at drawing up a trade package for the Jazz star, this time in a framework with the Miami Heat.

Here's Buckley's proposed deal to send Markkanen to South Beach:

Miami Heat receive: Lauri Markkanen, Georges Niang and Kyle Filipowski

Utah Jazz receive: Andrew Wiggins, Nikola Jović, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Terry Rozier, a 2029 first-round pick (top-three protected) and a 2030 first-round pick swap

In all, it's two veterans in Wiggins and Rozier, two young pieces in Jović and Jaquez Jr., and a first round pick and a swap in exchange for Markkanen, and shockingly, Kyle Filipowski.

In the mind of Buckley, it's a way for the Jazz to find a handful of "lottery tickets" in exchange for Markkanen.

"This trade would acknowledge the timeline gap between Markkanen and the rest of this roster and supply Salt Lake City's finest with a handful of scratch-off tickets," Buckey wrote. "The lightly-protected future first and first-round swap are the most obvious dart throws, but Utah's decision-makers could also be drawn to Jović and Jaquez."

"While Rozier would be nothing more than a salary-dump, the Jazz would be banking on Wiggins showing enough as a point-of-attack defender and support scorer to pique the interest of win-now shoppers between now and the trade deadline."

Would the Jazz Make This Trade?

Jan 9, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) dribbles by Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) during the second quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images | Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images

I think the short answer of whether or not the Jazz would pull the trigger on this deal is "no," but it's for a few reasons.

First, adding Kyle Filipowski to this package seems a bit illogical from the Jazz's perspective. While they do add two young "lottery tickets" in Jacquez and Jovic, they're also giving up another young piece in Filipowski–– which is certainly a bit counterproductive for what Utah's big picture goal would be in a deal like this.

Another wrinkle falls within the draft compensation. For a front office like the Jazz, known to value draft picks in a notably high regard (the Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert deals exemplify that), landing just one protected first-rounder and a pick swap for Markkanen would be underselling one of Utah's best assets on the roster.

If a deal were to develop for Markkanen to get sent elsewhere, the Jazz would almost certainly land a better return than just a swap and a protected first, even when considering the incoming young guys Jacquez and Jovic within this framework.

And while both Heat forwards do have their appeal, a Markkanen deal for the Jazz needs to be a more surefire bet than a handful of dart throws. Doing such a trade would present a loud message that Utah is turning the clock back for their timeline once again, digging even deeper into their rebuild, and thus, tripling down on their development and top of the draft.

In the event those aforementioned lottery tickets don't pan out without Markkanen in the picture, it starts to get ugly in Utah for both their current and future state. Without a package that instills better confidence, it's hard to see the Jazz making that move to ship out their top guy.

Would the Jazz Make This Trade?

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