Utah Jazz big man Lauri Markkanen’s contributions in the 2024-25 regular season were arguably overlooked, and it’s easy to understand why. He played for a Jazz team that won just 17 games the entire campaign and ended up with the worst record in the NBA, but Markkanen still deserves props for playing at an All-Star caliber level.
He averaged 19.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in his third season playing for the Jazz.
One proposed trade from Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report has the Miami Heat landing Markkanen in a deal that would ship big man Nikola Jovic, guard Terry Rozier and forward Duncan Robinson along with two first-round picks to the Jazz in exchange for the 28-year-old and one-time All-Star.
Miami Heat Receive: F Lauri Markkanen
Utah Jazz Receive: F Nikola Jović, G Terry Rozier, F Duncan Robinson, 2025 first-round pick (No. 20 overall via Golden State Warriors), 2030 first-round pick (top-five-protected)”
Markkanen had some up-and-down seasons to start his pro career with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers but has staked his claim as one of the better offensive big men in the league during his Jazz stint.
Across 168 regular-season games played with the Jazz, he’s averaged 23.0 points per game while shooting 38.0 percent from 3-point range. Markkanen was also awarded the Most Improved Player award in the 2022-23 season, his first season with the Jazz.
Markkanen would instantly be thrust into the conversation for the best offensive player on the Heat if he got traded to Miami, as he has an impressive offensive skill set for his size and position. He’s colossal in height, even by NBA standards, yet he can put the ball through the hoop from all three levels and is relatively adept at earning himself trips to the charity stripe.
The Finnish native would likely help the Heat in their pursuit to contend in the Eastern Conference once again to boot. A Markkanen and Bam Adebayo frontcourt stacks up with almost any frontcourt duo in the NBA in terms of talent.
The Heat would have to gave up their fair share of players and draft capital in the hypothetical trade to land Markkanen, but it’s hard to argue that the move wouldn’t help the Heat in the here and now in more ways than one.