Utah Jazz Secure Lauri Markkanen to massive deal - What’s the Bigger Picture?

Lauri Markkanen signed a contract extension worth $238 million over five years with the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, ending the trade talks that have surrounded him for months. Going into his 8th season, the 27-year-old Finnish All-Star has played 403 regular season games without a single playoff minute, the most among active players. Notably, third on that list is Markkanen’s Jazz teammate, Collin Sexton. Despite the lack of team success in his career so far, Markkanen has expressed his confidence in the Utah organization: “I trust in the organization to help grow me as a person and a player, to build our team, and I'm ready to take on the challenge."

The extension precludes Markkanen from being traded for six months, pushing him past the Feb. 6 deadline by one day, which means he isn't eligible to be moved until next offseason. Markkanen became eligible for the renegotiation and extension on Tuesday the 6th but signed the deal one day later on Wednesday, effectively preventing a trade for another year. Historically, organizations may express intentions to build around a player during negotiations, but if they have the ability to trade them, they just might when the opportunity arises. A prime example is Blake Griffin in 2017, who signed a 5-year, $173 million extension with the Clippers but was traded the following season. Therefore, it is very unusual for an organization to not only verbally commit to a player but also to sacrifice their own flexibility and leverage in a negotiation like this, showing a strong commitment from both sides to continue their partnership.

This extension is surprising but also unsurprising because the NBA organization is built on rumors and anticipation. People couldn’t stop talking about the potential fit of having Markkanen next to Steph Curry and Draymond Green. In reality, the Jazz had listened to trade scenarios over recent months for Markkanen but never received an offer that made them seriously consider moving him. After the extension, Markkanen said, "I don't stress about it, but you can't pretend you don't hear that stuff. It's a good feeling knowing that I'm going to be in Utah."

Another aspect to consider is how stacked the 2025 draft class looks, with big names like Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey. Cooper Flagg had taken the internet by storm with his USA Select Team performance, going up against NBA greats like Anthony Davis and holding his own. If you look at the Brooklyn Nets, teams that are not trying to compete for the playoffs next season are doing a lot to have a chance to pick high in the upcoming draft. Shouldn’t Utah, being a team that has its own first-round pick next season, consider being as bad as possible instead of having the roster now that might make the play-in? However, as competitive as the Western Conference looks right now, with teams like Memphis competing in the playoff race, will Utah still end up at the bottom of the conference even with Markkanen on the team? Only time will tell.

At the end of the day, with the flattened odds in the NBA lottery, teams have less of an incentive to really tank for a top pick. If you are lucky like the Atlanta Hawks, you still could win the lottery or have a high pick even if you win 35 games next season. Therefore, for a deal like this Markkanen deal to make sense for an organization, it might just be what the league wanted to achieve with the draft lottery odds: for teams to be able to keep a beloved player like Markkanen while still having a chance in the lottery.