Lauri Markkanen is a Utah Jazz player at the wrong time. Unfortunately.
The Finnish star has played 365 NBA regular season games without a single playoff game. It looks like that grim statistic won’t change in Utah.
The team can only dream of winning. Last season and during this season, only the weakest teams in the league, Detroit, Charlotte, Washington, San Antonio, Houston and Portland, have lost more than Utah.
Teams that are worth losing, so that the booking event would have the opportunity to book the most promising players as early as possible. Even among these teams, Houston’s rebuilding project has seemed to be progressing this season.
Unlike Utah’s.
The team’s games are painful to watch. Utah loses the ball the most in the entire series. Corriero is the fifth worst in the series. The list could be continued almost endlessly, because the team is at the bottom of the league in almost all advanced statistics, excluding rebounding statistics.
Does Utah management even want to try to win again?
Markkanen is by far the best player on the team. Will choose second best then by Jordan Clarkson, by Walker Kessler or of John Collins, the big picture doesn’t change. With this team, Utah won’t make the playoffs for a long time.
For example, Kessler, a rookie Keyonte George and Ochai Agbaji can develop into core players for a playoff team and Utah has a ton of backups in the coming years to build a successful team. So superstar-level pledges are coming to Utah.
It’s just too late for Markkanen.
The situation is contradictory. According to the player himself, he and his family enjoy themselves in Salt Lake City, but there is no success in sports. Markkanen’s contract expires at the end of next season, after which he will get a big contract either from Utah or elsewhere.
Markkanen’s contract until the end of next season is really cheap. Almost every club aiming for success would take the 26-year-old Markkanen squealing with joy.
The versatile Markkanen’s name has become the subject of transfer rumors in recent weeks, so let’s speculate on three, for one reason or another, delicious scenarios.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma, second in the Western Conference, is currently perhaps the most potential and in many ways the most interesting team in the entire NBA. Playmaker Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has become one of the best players in the world at the age of 25. 216-centimeter rookie player Chet Holmgren is a superstar of the future, and the core players of the athletic and young lineup are improving all the time.
The team scores the most points per game from the opponent’s turnovers in the entire series and shoots threes quite a bit, but accurately. Dangerous without the ball and great as a thrower, Markkanen would suit an aggressive style of play, where scoring opportunities are opened up on different sides of the court through drives to the basket.
The athletic team is able to defend in different ways, which suits Markkanen. The 213-centimeter Finnish giant can defend players in different positions, which is a big advantage in today’s NBA, which is bursting with skill.
A potential player trade could be, for example, a young person struggling in the hustle and bustle of civilian life Josh Giddey, Davis Bertans as well as reserve shifts in Utah and Markkanen chasing championships in Oklahoma.
Golden State Warriors
The most significant NBA club of the last decade is in crisis. A key player Draymond Green repeatedly shuffles himself off the field, the star player of championship seasons Klay Thompson is weaker than before at both ends of the field after injuries and the young reserves have not yet become stars.
Superstar Stephen Curry is the biggest reason why the Warriors would be a relevant club for Markkanes. As long as the 36-year-old Curry plays at his level this season, the Warriors have even a remote chance at a championship.
The Warriors, who continue to rely on moving the ball, the threat of long shots and movement without the ball, could make delicious use of Markkanen’s strengths. Markkanen would be a great recruit as the team’s second best player, which would open up space for Curry and Thompson, for example, and vice versa.
Markkanen would be a defensive tool that the Warriors don’t seem to have at the moment. Thompson and Andrew Wiggins are no longer at the same level as defenders of the wings or bigger backs as before, so the versatile Markkanen would fill the gap in a dynasty still thirsting for a championship, but rapidly decaying.
A potential player trade could be, for example, 21-year-olds Jonathan Kuminga mixed Moses Moodyexperienced Gary Payton II and backup shifts to Utah and Markkanen to save Steph Curry’s threateningly sinking ship.
Orlando Magic
As stated, Markkanen would probably easily fit into most of the teams in the current league. Among the possible successes of the near future, for example, Indiana, Memphis or Sacramento would be interesting targets for Markkanen, led by their brilliant playmakers.
The Orlando Magic, who have charmed this season, belong to the same category. 22-year-old German pier Franz Wagnera 21-year-old athlete Paolo Banchero and Markkanen would form one of the league’s most versatile second-fourth position combos, especially defensively.
In terms of age structure, Orlando would fit Markkanen’s timeline better than Utah, as the team seems to be ready to do well soon and for a long time. The Finnish winger would bring much-needed throwing power to the team, which would be apt to open up the team’s slightly sluggish attack.
Defensively, Orlando is already one of the best teams in the series. For example, it gives the second fewest shots in game situations to its opponents in the entire series, and the team’s so-called defensive rating is the fourth best in the series. The potential of the successful team is bubbling, even though the team recently lost twice to Boston, perhaps the biggest champion favorite.
Orlando would have several options to pursue a trade. The trade could be, for example, young backs Cole Anthony and Caleb Houstan and experienced Gary Harris and reserve shifts to Utah and Lauri Markkanen to Orlando to raise the team to an even tougher challenger.
As nice as it is to create different success scenarios, the most likely option is still that Markkanen will continue in Utah. Big player deals in the middle of the season are still quite rare, and Markkanen’s future giant contract will probably limit some clubs from the market.
In this way, the Finnish basketball public will have to be satisfied with Markkanen’s spark in a dismal team.