During a recent appearance on The reader with Spence Checketts on ESPN 700Salt Lake City, Utah radio station Tony Jones of The Athletic said the Utah Jazz are almost certainly not trading Lauri Markkanen this offseason is great news for the Washington Wizards.
Jones also said Markkanen “doesn’t want to be traded” and is expected to sign a contract extension with the Jazz in the first week of August.
There’s been a lot of smoke surrounding whether or not the Jazz could trade Markkanen, but things seem to be trending in the direction of them keeping him heading into next year.
Why is this good news for the Wizards? Well, because if Markkanen isn’t available on the trade market, then more teams around the league could be interested in a deal for Kyle Kuzma.
As Washington prepares for the upcoming season, they will enter the second year of their rebuilding process, but the first with their newly established young core in place.
Kuzma could be a good veteran to help lead the team, but at this point it might be better for the Wizards to trade him to a playoff team and get a solid return to help them moving forward.
Both Markkanen and Kuzma play power forward, but the Jazz big man’s elite efficiency from beyond the arc makes him the easier candidate to fit into many teams.
If he were available, almost every team in the league would have placed him higher in their rankings. metaphorical commercial sign than Kuzma, and that’s not ideal for the Wizards.
However, if the Jazz commit to keeping Markkanen and extending him, then some of the teams that would have preferred to have him could turn to Kuzma. on the trade market.
Even if it doesn’t happen immediately, a trade for Kuzma could be in the works this offseason, and the fact that Markkanen is off the market helps his value around the league.
Washington should seriously consider parting ways with the forward as he is one of the best players available on the trade market.
