An MRI conducted Friday on Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen revealed that he re-aggravated an impingement to his right shoulder, the team announced (via X). Doctors plan to re-evaluate Markkanen in two weeks, which effectively ends his season.
Markkanen was feeling discomfort in the shoulder after playing 42 minutes in Wednesday’s game against San Antonio, the Jazz added. He missed more than two weeks earlier this month with a right quadriceps contusion.
Injuries limited Markkanen to just 55 games in his second year with Utah. His numbers were down slightly from his All-Star season in 2022-23, but he still averaged 23.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 33.1 minutes per night while shooting 48% from the field and 39.9% from three-point range.
Markkanen’s $18M contract for next season currently carries just a partial guarantee of $6M and won’t officially become fully guaranteed until two days before the start of this year’s moratorium. That could become a moot point, though, as Markkanen is expected to pursue a renegotiation and long-term extension with the Jazz this summer.
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