The Utah Jazz are off to a slow 1-5 start to the season, already falling behind in the competitive Western Conference. After landing Kansas guard Darryn Peterson in the draft, it appeared that this could be the year this young Jazz team takes that leap.
So far that hasn't been the case, though injuries have unfortunately played a role early on. Should these struggles continue, it has to make you wonder if the Jazz would make star Lauri Markkanen available ahead of the February trade deadline.
Could struggling Jazz finally trade Lauri Markkanen this year?
Despite their rebuild, the Jazz have had a firm stance on Markkanen, even maintaining a seemingly high asking price. While using him as a foundational piece made sense with a young core, the losing start could make them rethink that approach and embrace the youth movement even further with a full-on rebuild.
One downside is that NBA commissioner Adam Silver changed the lottery odds in response to the tanking, which now punishes teams at the very bottom. You could make the case that Markkanen on this roster keeps the Jazz just good enough that they're exactly where they want to be in the league as a rebuilding team under these new changes.
But money talks in these decisions, and the $150 million remaining on Markkanen's contract has to factor into Utah's decision about whether to part ways with their best player.
The Golden State Warriors make sense as a potential landing spot, even giving them a path to getting off that Kristaps Porzingis contract, which has unfortunately aged horribly due to health issues. But the Portland Trail Blazers are another team that could use that frontcourt upgrade.
Blazers should target Lauri Markkanen as a frontcourt upgrade
We recently made the case for why the Blazers should trade Scoot Henderson for Naz Reid ahead of the deadline. Essentially, the same reasons Portland should trade for Reid also apply to Lauri, just at a higher-star level. Both give the Blazers another reliable frontcourt piece, which is much-needed insurance for a matchup-dependent Donovan Clingan and injury-prone Robert Williams III, as I pointed out in that piece.
While a Reid trade would be a logical move and an excellent fit, it still wouldn’t be that deadline splash that gives Damian Lillard his first real chance at a ring. Markkanen is that star power required to survive the Western Conference gauntlet come playoff time. They need that upgrade in the starting lineup to beat a team like the Thunder or Spurs in a seven-game series. It's also a great counter to the frontcourt upgrades OKC made this offseason, which were essentially trying to solve their inevitable annual Victor Wembanyama problem.
Fortunately, Portland is almost as well equipped as any for that frontcourt matchup with the size of Clingan, Williams, and even Deni Avdija or Jrue Holiday. But with the Blazers off to a strong start, they should consider making this upgrade at the deadline. It would send the league a message that the team is much closer to a contender than a rebuilding roster. They're ready to win now and finally have the weapons to compete.
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