Well-known NBA face David Aldridge told why he was not surprised by Lauri Markkanen’s historic giant contract. Next season is still going to be a loss for a good reason.
PARIS. Lauri Markkanen was the biggest talk of the summer in the world’s best basketball league, the NBA. In media speculation, the Finnish star was being taken in many directions, such as the Golden State Warriors or the San Antonio Spurs.
However, Utah did not go to trade the Finnish number one star.
Instead, Markkanen signed a five-year, 238 million dollar, i.e. more than 217 million euro, contract with the club. It is the largest player contract in Utah Jazz history. At the moment, the contract is also the seventh most valuable in the NBA all-time.
Urheilu met the iconic NBA voice and TV face in the corridors of the Paris Olympic basketball arena by David Aldridge. He is known for, among other things, the NBA 2K console games.
Aldridge worked for a long time on ESPN and TNT channel and he is one of the most famous NBA media faces. Today, Aldridge works for The Athletic as a special NBA reporter.
Aldridge was not at all surprised by Markkanen’s extension.
– The probability was so low for trading. I didn’t believe it, at least this year. This was also a good deal for him. He has earned it. Now he can take it easy, Aldridge said.
A sad statistic about to continue
Markkanen’s situation is interesting in the sense that, despite the giant contract, Utah is not going to be successful in the near future. Around Markkanen, the rest of the team is, at least at the moment, still far from the level of a playoff team.
Markkanes also became the current player who played the most regular season games last season without a single playoff game. In the coming season, Markka will hardly be seen in the playoffs.
The reason is the very good booking age group next year. That’s why many teams certainly don’t want to forcefully strengthen their team now, but rather try to enable the best possible reserve turn for next summer.
– The age group of 2025 is a monster. There are five or six players who can completely change the direction of organizations. Many teams will certainly refuel next year, Aldridge says in a heavy tone.
Markkanes has a second or third role in the champion team
The iconic NBA voice, however, believes that the 27-year-old Markkanen definitely wants to be a part of a champion candidate team at some point. He thinks it will be interesting to see how long the Finn can be patient.
Since the extension contract was signed on Wednesday, according to NBA rules, Markka cannot be traded in the middle of the season. The next time it will be possible is next summer.
The iconic NBA voice sees that Markkanen is on the development curve, where he could be the second or third star of a team fighting for the championship. According to Aldridge, Markkanen could be the first or second star in a playoff-level team.
– I don’t know if Markkanen can win the championship. And I’m not criticizing him now. There are very few players in the NBA this good. The number one star of a championship team must be among the 6-8 best players in the NBA, Aldridge reminds.