Jazz star Lauri Markkanen appears likely to delay signing his new extension until after Tuesday so he can ensure that he won’t be traded this season, league sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
Markkanen will become extension eligible on August 6, which is exactly six months before the NBA’s trade deadline. Contract extensions trigger a six-month moratorium on trades, so if he waits until August 7 or later to accept the new deal, Markkanen can make sure that he’ll spend the entire upcoming season with Utah.
Veteran extensions are limited to a 40% raise in the first year, so Markkanen would normally be looking at $25,262,362 as the starting salary in his next contract. But because the Jazz still have more than $35M in cap room, they can renegotiate his salary for 2024-25 from $18M to $42,176,400 and start the extension based on that number, giving him something in the neighborhood of a max deal.
With the clock ticking on Markkanen’s extension eligibility, it appears less likely that he’ll be traded before he can sign a new deal with Utah. The Jazz have reportedly been listening to offers, but have said they aren’t actively trying to move their All-Star forward.
Sources tell Fischer that the Kings and Warriors have both tried to deal for Markkanen since the start of free agency. Sacramento made “significant progress” in negotiations before trade talks collapsed in early July, Fischer adds. Golden State has also made offers for Markkanen, but Fischer’s sources say that Utah has prioritized Brandin Podziemski or Jonathan Kuminga, who are both viewed as starters for the Warriors this season.
Fischer also hears that the Spurs have expressed interest in Markkanen ever since he was a restricted free agent back in 2021, and San Antonio had hoped to acquire Markkanen in the sign-and-trade deal that sent DeMar DeRozan to Chicago that summer. The Thunder also had interest in Markkanen at the time, Fischer adds.
Fischer points out that Utah already has a large collection of first-round picks and trade swaps, so there’s limited value in acquiring more draft assets in exchange for Markkanen, a 27-year-old who’s playing at an All-Star level and wants to stay in Salt Lake City. Fischer believes that except for the Kings, much of the trade talk surrounding Markkanen this summer has been “preliminary at best.”
Bobby Marks and Tim MacMahon of ESPN also examine the Markkanen situation, including the prospects of a last-minute trade. Their sources indicate that the Warriors and Jazz haven’t come close to reaching a deal, with one source saying Golden State is being “very protective” of Podziemski.