The Utah Jazz may have proved unwilling to move Lauri Markkanen in a potential trade to the Golden State Warriors last offseason, but their stance on the star forward has seemingly shifted 12 months on.
Despite weeks of speculation linking Markkanen to the Warriors in July and early August last year, the Jazz re-negotiated and extended the Finnish forward on a huge new contract. However, there remains a good chance Markkanen doesn't play a single second for the Jazz on what's a new four-year, $195.9 million deal.
Lauri Markkanen is likely to find himself back on the trade market
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According to The Ringer's Bill Simmons during his most [recent podcast episode](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sgas-game-2-masterpiece-summer-nba-chaos-watch-mcdavids/id1043699613?i=1000712054902) on Sunday, _"people (around the league) seem to feel like Markkanen isn't not available.”_ While _"isn't not available"_ is an interesting way to describe the situation, it's quickly arisen talk of an imminent Markkanen trade this offseason.
Such news is likely to draw sarcastic laughter for Golden State fans who had to deal with a plethora of speculation and hope this time last year, only for Utah to retain their 2023 All-Star. The Jazz could have brought back a ton of young and future draft assets in a deal with the Warriors, but will now likely need to settle for far less compensation if a trade goes down this offseason.
Markkanen's new contract makes him far less valuable than 12 months ago when he was scheduled to make just $18 million, while his form this season was also noticeably down from the two years prior.
After posting 25.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game on 49.9% shooting from the floor and 39.1% 3-point shooting during his 2023 All-Star year, Markkanen was down to 19 points and 5.9 rebounds on 42/35/88 shooting splits this season.
The idea of a sweet-shooting seven-footer with a versatile offensive skillset still makes Markkanen very intriguing, but he's simply not going to be the same highly-valued trade target of a year ago.
Utah's disappointing draft lottery luck means they're likely to spend another year at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, which in turn puts Markkanen's future on the agenda given he's already yet to play a single playoff game through his first eight years in the league.
The chances of the Warriors reigniting trade interest in Markkanen appears slim given his contract, unless the franchise is [willing to move on from veteran forward Draymond Green](https://bluemanhoop.com/warriors-can-still-trade-lauri-markkanen-make-gut-wrenching-decision) in order to make the salary-matching plausible.