Lauri Markkanen Objective Trade Proposals

I’m gonna preface this that Lauri Markkanen is not gonna get traded unless he goes to Ryan Smith and Danny Ainge and lets them know he isn’t going to stay in Utah in free-agency. Let’s get that out of the way right at the beginning.

He is young enough that he can be a part of the Jazz for as long as he wants (gotta remember he is younger than Donovan Mitchell even though they were in the same draft class). Most likely outcome with Lauri is we give him a nice hefty contract and he stays here for 6+ seasons total.

However, r/Utahjazz has gotten plenty of fake trade proposals, some realistic, some not. I decided to go to my friends at r/nbamocks and ask for their take on Lauri Markkanen trade proposals. They’re a group of objective nba fans that like to gauge player value and make trade predictions.

So assuming Lauri is getting traded, what are some of the “realistic” trade packages Jazz fans could expect? If we’re gonna have the conversation, let’s make it a good conversation and have it be from non-homers.

#Trade Partner 1 — Detroit Pistons

Utah Jazz receive:

* Jaden Ivey
* James Wiseman
* 2028 FRP unprotected
* 2030 top 4 protected

A tiny bit different than the trade proposed by Pistons fan u/dippyJTC that got dragged here on the sub a few days ago (sorry u/dippyJTC, the objective fans were pretty close to agreeing with you). Instead of two seconds and a first as the draft capital, it would be two firsts. Detroit picks have the potential to be very very good — they aren’t the greatest run organization in the league, so while they have promising young talent in Cade, Hayes, Duren, and Ausar, they really aren’t guaranteed to be good in 2028 or 2030.

Jaden Ivey is also one of the best realistic prospects that Utah could get back and is the main appeal of this trade. He has all-star upside and could be a great fit next to Keyonte. Wiseman has minimal value and mostly makes up salary here (so like swap him with Alec Burks if you really want to bring him home).

While their timeline is a little off — Detroit is desperate for a winning move, and Lauri fits their young core like a glove.

#Trade Partner 2 — Golden State Warriors

Utah Jazz receive:

* Gary Payton II
* Jonathan Kuminga
* Brandin Podziemski
* 2026 FRP
* 2028 FRP
* Rights to swap in 2025, 2027, and 2029

This is a pretty good trade package if you like Podz and Kuminga as prospects. You own GSWs future along with Minnesota and Clevelands, and get two solid young players back.

Golden State is motivated to maximize the rest of Steph’s career, and Wiggins, Lauri and Moody potentially give them a little bit of staying power as a playoff team once Klay and Dray and Steph are gone.

Ideally, GSW would like to keep the swaps minimal, but three pick swaps might be required for them to have a competitive trade package.

#Trade Partner 3 — Indiana Pacers

Utah Receives:

* Bennedict Mathurin
* TJ McConnell
* Jarace Walker

The appeal here is two very very good upside prospects in Mathurin and Walker. Because of their quality young prospects, it was decided that minimal draft compensation was required. However, it’s possible that Indiana would be less inclined to include Walker and would in that case instead send 1-2 FRPs instead.

One member of the r/nbamocks group noted that the Indiana Pacers are probably more likely to make a run at Lauri in FA than they would trade for him straight up. Also that because of how conservative they are as an organization, it would be very unlikely that they trade their own picks.

#Trade Partner 4 — New Orleans Pelicans

Utah Jazz receive:

* Dyson Daniels
* Jordan Hawkins
* CJ McCollum
* 2024 NOP FRP
* 2024 LAL FRP
* 2027 MIL FRP

Because of CJ’s Salary, this would also require sending Jordan Clarkson or Collin Sexton. CJ is a quality starter and would easily make up for the additional piece Utah would have to trade.

New Orleans would be looking to capitalize on Zion and Ingram’s prime, and a lineup with Trey Murphy, Lauri, Ingram, and Zion would be an offensive powerhouse.

The Milwaukee pick could be good, and is the best draft piece here. The addition of Hawkins is appealing, as he definitely has the making of an all-star sharpshooter and is enjoying a great Rookie campaign— which means New Orleans would probably push back and prefer to include Herb Jones instead.

#Trade Partner 5 — Philadelphia 76ers

Utah Jazz receive:

* Marcus Morris Sr.
* 2026 OKC/HOU/LAC FRP (worst of the four)
* 2028 LAC FRP
* 2029 LAC right to swap
* 2030 PHI FRP

The appeal of this trade is the draft assets. Philadelphia uses a lot of the assets they got from the Harden trade to upgrade their championship aspirations this season. Morris is purely salary and would probably be waived on arrival, Russell Westbrook style.

The 2026 pick is the worst of OKC/HOU/LAC, but that should be a very strong draft. 2028 unprotected LAC could be a goldmine (plus a swap in 2029), and 2030 PHI is gonna be when Embiid is 35.

#Trade Partner 6 — Sacramento Kings

Utah Jazz receives:

* Keegan Murray
* Davion Mitchell
* Chris Duarte
* 2028 SAC FRP
* 2030 SAC FRP

Sacramento combines Fox, Lauri, Sabonis, and Huerter. It fits like a glove and makes the leagues best offensive attack even more deadly.

For Utah, Keegan Murray is a solid young prospect and definitely could grow into a great player. Because he is a very solid prospect, Sacramento probably tries to keep a pick or two out if they can. While Duarte and Mitchell may end up being serviceable players in their career, they have limited upside at this time.

#Conclusion

Hope you enjoyed reading what some other fans thought realistic trade packages could look like. We had fans from many different teams chime in, so it helped with the bias and hopefully kept things grounded.

#TL/DR Trading Lauri is unlikely, but in the event he asks to be moved and does not want to be in Utah anymore, here are 6 potential trades made by objective fans of various NBA teams.

Please vote for which trade you like the best.

by Brutus583