Utah Jazz's Lauri Markkanen Linked to Surprise Trade Suitor

While much buzz has surrounded each of Lauri Markkanen and the Utah Jazz on a potential trade being in play for the past couple of years, to this point, both sides have remained firm on no deal coming to form. Markkanen has been vocal about his happiness with remaining in Salt Lake City, while the Jazz brass has remained committed and confident in their star forward.

However, if a trade were to soon come to form on the Jazz star to move him from Utah across the motions of this season or come next summer, where would his ideal destination be?

A lot of suitors have been put in the mix throughout Markkanen's time of being in trade rumors. Just last offseason, it was the Golden State Warriors leading as the top candidate to pull off a deal. Teams like the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets have also been linked in recent memory, but each has made their respective star acquisitions in the past year without the Jazz (hence, De'Aaron Fox and Kevin Durant).

However, when asking The Ringer's Michael Pina who could be the perfect suitor to pull off a deal for Markkanen, that centers on one team: the Detroit Pistons.

"A couple candidates spring to mind, but for one reason or another, they just don’t seem able or willing to engage with Utah on realistic terms, be it thanks to their cap situation, dearth of assets, or lack of bone-deep self-confidence that’s required to make a trade like this," Pina wrote.

"The center of the Venn diagram here is extremely slim, but I can still think of at least one team that should do whatever it takes to pry Markkanen out of Utah. It’s the Detroit Pistons, an ascending, hungry, well-budgeted club that has probably spent the past four months convinced it let the New York Knicks off the hook in the first round."