For several weeks, the name of Lauri Markkanen occupies a lot of rumors. The Finn will be out of contract in 2025 and he arouses covetousness. However, today could change the situation. It is indeed from this Tuesday, August 6 that he can extend his contract.
According to information from ESPNthe Jazz will offer a contract extension with a big salary to its All-Star, who has already declared that he wants to stay in Salt Lake City.
A D-Day that counts for a lot
But will he sign his new contract today? If the question arises, it is because it is crucial for what comes next. Why? Because a player who extends his contract cannot be transferred before six months. In six months, to the day, we will be on February 6, 2025, the last day before the “trade deadline”.
So, there would be a small window of a few hours left for the Jazz to trade Lauri Markkanen on February 6. If he extends tomorrow or after, the interior will necessarily spend the entire 2024/25 season in Utah.
Also, what could this extension look like? What's interesting is that the Jazz still have a lot of cap space ($37 million) because the rookies – Drew Eubanks and Johnny Juzang – have not officially signed their contracts, thus leaving room for the Finn's extension.
When the extension is done, then the players will be integrated into the group. Currently, the Jazz have a salary mass of 103 million dollars and they must be at least 90% of the salary cap on the first day of the regular season. So there is at least 23.7 million to spend.
So that, according to Yahoo Sportsif he extends for four seasons, Lauri Markkanen could get $188.9 million. If it's five more seasons, it could go up to $250 million.
Several teams to watch
The amount and duration will be important since ESPN, which interviewed NBA executives, suggests that they expect the player's value to increase with this extension. Which makes sense since getting him this summer, with one year left on his contract, meant taking the risk that he would leave for free in 2025. With a long-term contract, the problem is solved, even if, in the event of a “late” signing (i.e. starting tomorrow), it will be necessary to wait until next summer to bring him in.
Last question finally: who is interested in the former Cleveland and Chicago? Golden State comes up very often in the rumors but the Warriors do not want to let go of Brandin Podziemski, while the Jazz would like to include him in the exchange.
The Spurs made a few trades before the Draft, but it didn't go any further. Finally, the Thunder and the Rockets would remain to be watched. The first because it has a lot of Draft choices in stock, the second because they are looking to strengthen and have followed several prestigious but unsuccessful leads (Donovan Mitchell, Mikal Bridges and even Kevin Durant…).
| Lauri Markkanen | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2017-18 | CHI | 68 | 30 | 43.4 | 36.2 | 84.3 | 1.2 | 6.3 | 7.5 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 15.2 |
| 2018-19 | CHI | 52 | 32 | 43.0 | 36.1 | 87.2 | 1.4 | 7.6 | 9.0 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 18.7 |
| 2019-20 | CHI | 50 | 30 | 42.5 | 34.4 | 82.4 | 1.2 | 5.1 | 6.3 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 14.7 |
| 2020-21 | CHI | 51 | 26 | 48.0 | 40.2 | 82.6 | 0.7 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 13.6 |
| 2021-22 | KEY | 61 | 31 | 44.5 | 35.8 | 86.8 | 1.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 14.8 |
| 2022-23 | UTH | 66 | 34 | 49.9 | 39.1 | 87.5 | 2.0 | 6.7 | 8.6 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 25.6 |
| 2023-24 | UTH | 55 | 33 | 48.0 | 39.9 | 89.9 | 2.2 | 6.0 | 8.2 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 23.2 |
| Total | 403 | 31 | 45.9 | 37.5 | 86.6 | 1.4 | 5.9 | 7.3 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 18.1 | |
How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.
