3 Potential Trade Destinations for Jazz's Lauri Markkanen After Recent Report

For Markkanen, he is coming off a down season in which he played in only 47 games due to injuries and averaged 19.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 42.3% from the field and 34.6% from three.

Despite this, the 28-year-old star forward has still drawn interest on the trade market this offseason and on Wednesday, Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix reported that the Jazz are “very open” to moving him.

With this report, it appears as though Markkanen may be on the move this season and these three teams could be potential trade suitors for the star forward.

San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs have been linked to Markkanen since last offseason as they could look to add another star player alongside their core of Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle.

For San Antonio, making a trade for Markkanen could cost them multiple of their young players, possibly including Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan or Devin Vassell, along with multiple draft picks.

Despite this, adding the star forward next to Wembanyama inside could work out well for the Spurs as Markkanen would give them another reliable scorer, defender and rebounder in their starting lineup.

Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons have also been a team that has been linked to Markkanen after completing a historic turnaround last season that saw them make the playoffs.

For the Pistons, adding Markkanen next to their core of Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren could work out well for them, though they may have to part ways with players such as Tobias Harris, Jaden Ivey or Ron Holland II in a potential trade.

While that may be the case, adding the 28-year-old forward would give the Pistons another star player next to their young core who could help them make a deep playoff run this season.

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat have been in search of another star player to pair alongside Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo since trading Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors last season.

Because of this, they could target Markkanen this season to add the star forward to their roster to bolster their starting lineup.

Despite this, Miami does not have a ton of tradeable assets that they would be willing to move, which could allow another team to outbid them for Markkanen but if they are able to land him, he could turn them into a contender this season.

While these three teams could target Markkanen this season, other teams could also show interest in the star forward as it appears that his time in Utah is nearing an end.