Will Lauri Markkanen Be Traded by Jazz Before Deadline? NBA Insider Updates Rumors
The Utah Jazz are still deeply immersed in their rebuild, and they seemingly want to continue that rebuild around Lauri Markkanen.
Per NBA insider Marc Stein, "more teams than not that we speak to are increasingly convinced that the Jazz are more likely to try to add to their Markkanen-led core this Trade Season rather than trade Markkanen away."
Markkanen has been in Utah since the 2022-23 season, and so far, his time with the Jazz hasn't resulted in anything better than a 37-45 season and three straight playoff absences. The team is off to a 6-13 start this year.
Markkanen has been involved in trade rumors for much of the last year. Over the summer, the Jazz reportedly weren't interested in moving him and considered him to be a key piece of the team's future.
In October, SI.com's Chris Mannix reported that the team was "very open for business" regarding a trade for Markkanen despite previously shutting down offers. Now, according to Stein's report, it appears Utah is once again content with keeping Markkanen around.
Considering the way Markkanen has started the season, it's not much of a surprise that the Jazz are interested in keeping their star. The 28-year-old is putting up 28.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, seemingly on his way to a career year.
