What is Lauri Markkanen's NBA Trade Value? Insider Floats Pistons Package Amid Rumors

NBA insider Zach Lowe feels the Detroit Pistons would need to trade four draft picks, plus pick swaps and players, in order to acquire Lauri Markkanen from the Utah Jazz.

"The price is going to be everything," Lowe told Steve Jones Jr. on Wednesday's episode of the Zach Lowe Show. "It's going to be [Tobias] Harris, [Jaden] Ivey, [Ron] Holland, every pick and swap you have.

"If you want to keep Ausar Thompson, which you do; if you want to keep Jalen Duren... then the price is Holland, plus Ivey, plus Harris, plus four picks, plus four swaps."

Lowe's estimation comes amid a report from ESPN's Vincent Goodwill, who wrote Thursday that Pistons ownership has "an internal desire to see this group together before pressing the fast-forward button."

That could involve waiting for the return of Ivey, who hasn't played since undergoing surgery on a broken fibula in his left leg last January followed by a procedure on his right knee in October.

Ivey was assigned to the G League on Tuesday in an indication he is taking another step toward returning.

Despite that waiting period, Goodwill wrote the Pistons owners aren't "afraid of making a large commitment should the front office come with a proposal."

The Pistons are currently about $26 million below the first apron of the salary cap, per Spotrac. As pointed out by ESPN's Bobby Marks, that means the team could afford to take on salary in a potential trade.

Including Harris as part of a potential deal would also help, given that the veteran forward is making $26.6 million this season on his expiring deal, per Spotrac.

The Pistons also have the draft stock to compete with any opposing team in offering competitive trade packages.

Per Marks, the Pistons control their own first-round picks through 2032, and could swap each selection as well as trade up to four of them.

It is not yet clear if the Jazz will consider trading Markkanen, who turned 28 in May and is playing in the first season of a four-year, $195.9 million deal intended to make him the face of the franchise through the 2028-29 campaign.

If the Jazz (5-9) remain on pace for a fourth straight missed postseason, however, the franchise could potentially consider testing the market as to how much they could get in return for one of the NBA's top scorers.

Markkanen is averaging a career-high 30.6 points through the first 14 games of the Jazz's season. Should Utah let him hit the trade block, the Pistons may have to weigh giving up multiple years of team control over players like Ivey and Holland as well as mortgaging the organization's draft future in the hopes of building a playoff contender around Markkanen going forward.