The Los Angeles Lakers have officially reached the stage of the offseason at which trade speculation will be dominating headlines. It's an annual tradition in Los Angeles that truly has no breaks in between the bigger spikes in rumors and hypothetical proposals.
The latest in a long line of proposed trade packages was produced by Bleacher Report, with the outlet suggesting the Lakers acquire Lauri Markkanen from the Utah Jazz.
It was one of three trade proposals that aspired to send LeBron James back to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In it, Los Angeles would receive De'Andre Hunter, Markkanen, and Max Strus to revamp the rotation and build around Luka Doncic.
Tim MacMahon of ESPN provided a pertinent report, however, noting that Utah isn't making Markkanen untouchable, but views him as a key player they hope to continue building with.
"It would be too much to describe Markkanen as untouchable, but the Jazz still project the All-Star forward as a key player in their future core. That contract isn't a concern for Jazz governor Ryan Smith, whose roster is loaded with rookie deals. However, opposing executives said the money does dampen Markkanen's theoretical trade value, particularly as he's coming off the worst shooting season of his career, albeit in challenging circumstances."
Markkanen is a tremendous talent, but the Lakers have been saved from potentially overpaying for his talents by this rumor.
Jazz view former Lakers trade target Lauri Markkanen as a key player
From a pure talent perspective, it's easy to understand why Los Angeles would potentially have interest in trading for Markkanen. He's a productive and versatile forward who offers a bit of everything on the offensive end of the floor.
Markkanen even earned All-Star honors and the Most Improved Player award in 2023 after averaging 25.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 3.9 three-point field goals made on .499/.391/.875 shooting.
For as enticing as that is to note, the 28-year-old also comes with two key issues: Injuries and a massive contract. He's missed at least 21 games in six of his eight NBA seasons, including 62 absences over the past two years alone.
For a Lakers team that's looking to win now with Doncic and simultaneously build a sustainably excellent future, adding a player with extensive injury issues would be far from ideal.
Furthermore, 2025-26 will mark the first season of Markkanen's new four-year, $195,868,414 contract. It's a backloaded deal that, even with a rising salary cap, would be incredibly difficult to move off of if the experiment to pair him with Doncic fails.
Moreover, a James trade aside, the Lakers would need to package multiple key rotational players just to make the salaries align to acquire Markkanen—and it's fair to question if he's truly worth that type of outgoing package.
Even if Markkanen were guaranteed to remain healthy, the Lakers have been down this road before. Top-heavy rosters that lack depth have been proven insufficient for the modern era, especially in the aftermath of the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder winning the past two titles.
Thankfully, Utah's decision to keep Markkanen in town and make him a franchise cornerstone has saved the Lakers from a potentially disastrous decision.
