The Truth About Lauri Markkanen’s Contract Extension
The Utah Jazz signed Lauri Markkanen to a MASSIVE contract extension that will have him earning a whopping $49 million per year for the next five years. But is Lauri Markkanen really worth that much money?
To the Utah Jazz, definitely. Markkanen’s value lies in the fact that, regardless of who you add to your team, whether it be through free agency or the draft, he can still be an elite producer for you.
Lauri Markkanen doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be able to impact winning. He can make the most out of very few touches. The Lauri Markkanen contract extension may look like an overpay, but if you’re the Utah Jazz, you probably feel like you got a steal.
Teams like the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder were rumored to be trying to work out a Lauri Markkanen trade, but they’re just gonna have to wait.
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35 Comments
3rd
I don't think he's worth that much money tbh
Last time i was this early, we were still working at Sam's Club lol.
Utah Jazz will be fun to watch next few seasons
Honestly he's worth it, hopefully they get back into playoff contention during his contract. Personally I would only say it's not worth it if they rebuild throughout his entire contract.
You made Lauri look like a top 5 player in this highlight reel sheesh
I think he is worth the moeny, but the Jazz are in a really weird spot with trying to contend for the playoffs, but not really having expectations to go past the first round, but also rebuilding, but also not really improving their team, but also not having too much draft capital, but also not being a free agent destination. It feels really weird though cause they are fun to watch, especially for their unique system and lineups so I cant blame them for being mediocre cause its kinda worth it financially.
I love him but not for 49 million a year when he's going to be 32 by the end of it and 7 feet players never age well.
Took Lauri in fantasy 2022 in the late rounds and he won me my league as a sleeper pick so don’t sleep on this stud!
After this contract Lauri is still 2 years younger whan Dirk who demolish hole NBA in 2011. And Lauri is better athlete and about as good 3pt shooter. Dirk had better midrange. But we will see. And so far it looks really good.
low-key one of the most underrated players in the league rn
Really quality analysis Lauri is a unicorn
6:41 – While I do think Lauri got slightly overpaid, it isn't by a ton(especially with the new TV rights deal likely all but guaranteeing 10% cap raises for years to come), and as you've highlighted here a big portion of his value will be from how much of a plug-and-play type player he is. One of the biggest issues with getting some stars to mesh is that some guys are simply better on the ball(hello Cleveland, Phoenix), but Lauri is perfectly comfortable playing a primarily off ball based role. That makes him a very valuable complementary star in an NBA where most of the top players operate best with the ball in their hands as you won't need to make any major changes to your offense to fit him in. You just put Lauri out there and he makes you better for it.
It's a shame that such a good player is on a bad team(it would've been interesting to see how him and Bridges could've done as a duo had Ainge managed to land him), but he has plenty of value to the Jazz either on their team or as a trade piece. It makes total sense why Ainge wanted to hold onto him when he didn't like the offers available to him earlier this summer.
So, Jazz had to pay someone. That was my first thought.
My second is now when they do trade him they'll also get some salary dump players too along with picks. I think Ainge might be eyeing up OKC picks, purely because I think Lauri would fit brilliantly in their system.
Now, they can get some picks and take on some salary too meaning Jazz will get players who they can play now too if they decide to go full rebuild.
agreed with all of your points on the offensive end – but he's not as versatile as a fit on the defensive side IMO
You're telling me he's with 200 million. He's earning 49 million a year. Zion earns less money than that and I can tell you he's much better than him by far. It's not even close he's not worth that money he's worth 28 million maybe 35 on a good day. He's playing well in a bad team.What is the difference between him and Terry rozier last year. They same stats but on a bad team. He is not a superstar. I promise you if you put naz reed in the same situation he would be the better. There are so many other players better than him .
I think Utah will trade Collins first then Lauri lol
He isn't worth it at the end of the day, NBA teams just think they need to offer the best player on a team massive money to keep them regardless of the fact they might not be that good in comparison to the rest of the league.
Ok…. as a Warriors fan, now I want Mike Dunleavy fired. We're screwed this year.
You didn't mention how his athleticism makes his team mates to try harder.
The influx of max-contracts in the NBA is getting out of hand, max-contracts used to be a Top 10 player only kind of thing, nowadays it feels like that everybody who even has the slightest all-star potential will get a max. While i do think that Lauri is an overpay, i understand the deal in the current NBA landscape as somebody else would pay him that money and the Jazz are kind force to pay him to keep their asset. I would have preferred the Jazz to trade him, as his trade value is definetely higher right now than after he signed that extension and i see him more as a complimentary piece in a winning team than your dominant go to guy.
Nevertheless, compared to all the absolutely insane rookie extensions we have seen this year it is still a good deal.
He's a good piece to build around at least, plus they have tons of draft picks. I like the rebuild direction they're going in.
Great analysis on Lauri! But the only critique I have is when you said that he's the most easily adaptable star in the NBA. Because that's still KD. But Markkanen is way up there for sure and every bit worth the money. Especially considering that the cap is going way up year by year.
CBA rules says teams have to meet the 90% salary floor at the start of preseason training camp, what other big name player is going to sign with Utah to get them there? He played well this past season and I'm assuming Jazz fans were happy to have him. If he generates revenue by putting butts in seats, moving merch, and getting tv ratings for their games up then that's all that matters to ownership what his worth is
Fortunes change so fast in the NBA. A few years ago in Chicago, Lauri was on the bench, an unreliable scorer and non defender. Now he's richer than God, his play is garnering acclaim, he has a bright future in Utah and could potentially move to a contender if a trade comes in. Even his much maligned defense is better than before.
I can't believe warriors fumbled this guy. they chose to clingon to the potential of their young guys over a guy who has shown his potential and would prolly excel more wih his style of play in warriors sytem.
He’s not worth it considering he isn’t a good enough player to wil them to the playoffs consistently
If the Clippers would've been able to flip PG for assets for Lauri, he'd be a perfect fit…
"That era of thinking is gone"
PG walks in.
Great take! I made a sub👍
Lauri getting overrated. He’s got that Bradley Beal aura. Gonna make 400 million and will never play meaningful basketball. You can’t pay their options max money anymore
7 footers who shoot above 40% from behind the arc are SUPER RARE and highly sought after
it still frustrates me as a bulls fan that bulls management just gave up on him so early.
1:49 see of guards and Jayson Tatum 😂
If I was him I wouldn’t have signed but I guess he’s okay with not making the playoffs lmao