New Lauri Markkanen Rumor Dampens Trade Buzz for Utah Jazz

Trade buzz has remained consistent around Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen over the past several months, and even years, that have pinned multiple interested suitors and possible deals that could be in play to ship out the team's franchise cornerstone, and bring a big shake-up to their rebuild entirely.

To this point, that noise lingering around Markkanen hasn't resulted in much traction for the Jazz to come close to any deals with any of those potential destinations, despite all of the chatter that may encircle his name. And according to NBA insider Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, that status might not be changing anytime soon.

Scottie was recently interviewed on the YES Network to dive into some of the recent trade buzz that's surrounding a few NBA stars, where Markkanen came up as a topic of conversation among many names.

And for Markkanen, while there's certainly interest in his services, the consensus remains that the Jazz want to hang onto him for the long haul.

"[Lauri] had a great summer with Finland. He has transitioned that to this season, averaging almost like, 30 points a game. What's interesting about Lauri is, when you talk to executives around the league, a lot of teams have been linked to him in the past... However, with that said, to my understanding, Utah wants to build around Lauri Markkanen," Scotto said.

"And what they want to do, ideally: they have a ton of cash space this summer. Use it to make the roster better. If they're gonna be in the lottery this year, they hope that that's the last time for the foreseeable future, where they could start to build this thing and make it a run. You re-sign Walker Kessler, but you wait to do that last after you use your cap space."

"Big picture, that's what Utah's thinking. Lauri draws a ton of interest around the league, but right now, Utah wants to hold on to him, and really try to make a run for the future, to improve this team, and start to win."

On the Pregame Show @ChrisShearnYES spoke with Senior NBA Insider @MikeAScotto regarding Giannis Antetokounmpo, the point guard trade market & much more!#NETSonYES pic.twitter.com/l2uEdzcKEl
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) December 14, 2025

Utah Jazz Stand Firm on Lauri Markkanen Stance

While Markkanen's name is always bound to appear as a top name to watch at the trade deadline for as long as the Jazz are stuck in their rebuild, the stance has been clearly defined for how Utah wants to move forward with their franchise star: rather than looking for a deal to ship him off, keep him as a core building block to mesh this new young core around.

Dec 4, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) drives to the basket against Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Demin (8) during the fourth quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Tom Horak-Imagn Images | Tom Horak-Imagn Images

Markkanen, who's currently putting together the best year of his career through the first month or so of the season, might not be on the same timeline as the rest of the Jazz's younger pieces. Yet, he's still in his late 20s, has a ton of good, productive campaigns left ahead, and has a long-term contract that'll keep him in Salt Lake City throughout his prime.

Unless a team offers such a good package that can't be neglected by the Jazz front office, or the front office feels the need to ship him out in order to better their lottery odds, he feels like he's in Utah to stay. And to this point, neither of those possibilities has gotten too far off the ground.

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