What signing of All-Star Lauri Markkanen means for Jazz

By holding onto Markkanen, the Jazz are signaling their belief in a young core that features recent first-round picks Cody Williams and Isaiah Collier.

With the allure of the play-in tournament, the Jazz could be eyeing a future as the 10th seed in the playoffs, where the young and offensively talented team could be dangerous. Utah (31-51) finished 12th in the Western Conference last season and did not make the postseason.

This offseason, Markkanen — the NBA's 2022-2023 Most Improved Player — had been connected to  the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors.

Markkanen has significantly improved in his two seasons with Utah, where he has averaged 24.5 points and 8.4 rebounds. In the five previous seasons before his trade to the Jazz from Cleveland, he never averaged more than 18.7 points.

Despite showing promise early in his career, Markkanen never clicked with the Chicago Bulls, who acquired him after he was drafted by Minnesota with the seventh overall pick in 2017. (He never played for the Timberwolves.)

In his four seasons with Chicago, he averaged 15.6 points and 7.1 rebounds and shot .509 from the floor.

In August 2021, Markkanen signed a multi-year contract as part of a sign-and-trade deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played one season for the Cavs before his trade to the Jazz as part of the Donovan Mitchell deal in September 2022.

Even with the strong play of Markkanen, the Jazz have struggled since last making the playoffs in 2021-22.

Offensively, the Jazz finished 11th last season in scoring, averaging 115.7 points. However, the team struggled mightily on defense, surrendering 120.5 PPG, the second-worst figure in the league.

With Markkanen back in the fold, the Jazz have a better chance to make the playoffs and to improve defensively.