Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Utah Jazz All-Star big man Lauri Markkanen has been involved in NBA trade rumors pretty much all offseason. He’s primarily been linked to the Golden State Warriors, with some other teams also being involved.
As has been the case throughout his career, Jazz front office head Danny Ainge has not necessarily been easy to work with. Talks with Golden State seem to have hit a standstill. In short, the Warriors are offering up a draft pick-laden haul. Meanwhile, Utah prefers any package that sends Markkanen to Northern California to be centered around young guard Brandin Podziemski.
We now have somewhat of an interesting update on where things stand right now. It will likely lead to Markkanen playing all of next season with the Jazz.
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The in-season NBA trade deadline is set to take place on February 6. The league prohibits any player who signs a contract to be dealt within a six-month span after inking the deal.
For his part, Markkanen is not eligible to sign an extension until August 6. This gives Utah a short window to move the big man short of the two sides not agreeing to an extension during the offseason.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports follows that up with this report.
All indications, though, are that Markkanen intends to delay his signature for that exact purpose, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Markkanen, 27, seemingly wants to remain in Salt Lake City. However, the Jazz are still going through a long-term rebuild. It makes sense for Ainge and Co. to listen to offers for the star 7-foot Finland native.
This does not mean that a trade can’t happen ahead of the hard deadline mentioned above. Rather, the Jazz and other teams are seemingly up against it now.