If not for the strong opinion of veteran forward Draymond Green, we may be sitting here right now with Lauri Markkanen as a member of the Golden State Warriors.
Now it seems that the Warriors' interest in Markkanen last year may have been the last genuine opportunity for a rival team to get their hands on the Utah Jazz star. Danny Ainge reportedly has little interest in dealing Markkanen this season despite constant speculation, with the Jazz potentially looking at becoming buyers instead according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
Lauri Markkanen may be all but off the trade market
Markkanen remains a dream trade target for a number of teams around the league, including the Warriors if they could find a way to reach his $46.4 million salary. However, the Finnish forward is not expected to be available according to the latest intel from Stein on Sunday.
"Difficult as it can be for rival teams to read the intentions of a front office that now houses Austin Ainge as well as Danny Ainge, 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," Stein reported.
This could be crushing news to some who may hold belief they were a Markkanen piece away from legitimate contention. The Detroit Pistons had been widely connected to the 2023 All-Star, largely thanks to their need for more shooting and their combination of young assets and tradable contracts.
It's important to note that Golden State wouldn't be able to trade for Markkanen anyway without giving up Jimmy Butler or both Jonathan Kuminga and Green, which would be ironic given the latter urged the franchise not to trade for the seven-footer during the 2024 offseason. The Warriors would also have to add in draft assets and further young players to a hypothetical deal that appears like it's drawing further and further away from a plausible reality.
Markkanen has completely rehabilitated his value over the first 19 games of this season, having previously lost considerable prestige as a trade target after an underwhelming 2024-25 campaign that followed a massive new contract extension.
He's now averaging a career-high 27.9 points so far this season, while shooting 46.6% from the floor and 35.5% from beyond the arc. Markkanen is also adding 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and nearly a steal per game, but was kept to just 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting from the floor in a 134-117 loss to the Warriors last Monday.