Elsewhere in Utah: After my former Sports Illustrated colleague Chris Mannix described Lauri Markkanen as available for trade earlier this week, we naturally checked in with some league insiders familiar with that situation.
Don’t think anyone is suggesting that the Jazz are shopping Markkanen … but listening? Or willing to listen? Sure.
That was Utah’s same posture for much of the 2024 offseason until Markkanen signed a massive new contract extension on Aug. 7, 2024, which was specifically timed - after robust trade interest from Golden State was well as inquiries from Sacramento - to ensure that he could not be traded during the 2024-25 season.
But that restriction has been lifted and the Jazz are still in a rebuilding mode.
So the phone is bound to ring with proposals for their All-Star forward. Again, though, it has been stressed to me that the Jazz are not looking to move the 7-footer. Markkanen is still in his prime at 28, just had a strong EuroBasket for Finland and has made no secret of his fondness for Salt Lake City, where he made his All-Star breakthrough during hte 2023-24 season. It was not lost on the Jazz that Markkanen delayed signing his extension in August 2024 until the first day he could ensure that he would not be trade eligible until after the 2024-25 campaign.
If there is any trade situation to monitor at present in Utah, it’s the future of veteran forward Kevin Love. The Jazz allotted a healthy 20 minutes of playing time to the 37-year-old in Wednesday’s exhibition loss to Houston. As with the Knicks starting Pacome Dadiet in their first exhibition game of the new season in Abu Dhabi, Love’s playing time led several rival teams to wonder if the Jazz were already showcasing him for potential suitors before the regular season even starts.