Latest NBA Trade Sets Market for Two Utah Jazz Players

This is a trade that made my ears perk up, and I’m sure plenty of other Jazz fans as well. As has been reported this summer, the Jazz are willing to listen to offers on everyone on their roster. This includes All-Star Lauri Markkanen and young big man Walker Kessler.

While the Jazz are not actively looking to get off either player, they’re at a point in their rebuild where everything has to be on the table. If a team comes along and is willing to put a package on the table similar to what Orlando just did for Markkanen or Kessler, the Jazz would have to think long and hard about moving off of them.

Markkanen, who just turned 28, is in the prime of his career and one of the most unique talents in the world as a 7-footer with a devastating combination of athleticism and elite perimeter shooting ability. There has been some dialogue floating around that the Jazz missed their window to trade Markkanen last summer; this trade says otherwise.

One of the reasons it has been speculated that Markkanen has less value than he did a year ago is because he’s now on a 4 year, $195 million extension. Bane, while cheaper, is still owed $163 million over the next four years. The lesson: good players are expensive, but if you want good players, you have to pony up for them. Bane is yet another example of this.

Markkanen had a down season in 2024-25, but this can largely be explained by the Jazz prioritizing lottery balls and player exploration over tangible success. The previous two seasons in Utah, Markkanen averaged a massive 24.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game while shooting 49% from the floor, 39.5% from three, and 88% from the free throw line. It’s clear why the Jazz value him and believe he can be part of the future.

That’s not to say they couldn’t be blown away by a big offer, though. Teams like the San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, and Portland Trail Blazers are in a similar position to the Magic with a young, talented core and a full cupboard of draft picks. The Jazz are still far from building a sustainable winner, and keeping Markkanen might make it harder for them to do so.

As for Kessler, he’ll turn just 24 years old this summer but is eligible for a contract extension. Like Markkanen, he’s a winning player right now. Teams like the Los Angeles Lakers have already registered plenty of interest in him in the past and could do so again. After all, he’d thrive next to an elite lob-throwing guard like Luka Doncic.

If the Jazz are serious about retaining their 2026 first-round pick, which is top-8 protected, it makes sense that they make moves to ensure their standing in the West. The move this morning set the market for the rest of the summer, and it did so quite well for the Jazz. If a team wants to get their hands on Markkanen or Kessler, they better come with an offer that the Jazz can’t refuse.

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