Jazz All-Star’s extension only pushes back trade rumors by a year

The Jazz explored trade options for Markkanen all summer before Utah decided to renegotiate and extend his contract. Markkanen got a big raise from his existing $18M salary next season up to the maximum of just over $42M, plus four more years at a total of $196M to stay with the team where he became an All-Star during the 2022-23 season.

The new contract’s timing means he’s sticking around Salt Lake City next season. NBA players can’t be traded until six months after signing such a deal, and the trade deadline is on Feb. 6, one day before Markkanen would become trade-eligible.

But there’s no reason to think Utah won’t be shopping Markkanen again. Since Danny Ainge became CEO of the Jazz late in 2021, he’s traded veterans and stockpiled draft picks. Rudy Gobert was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Donovan Mitchell went to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Utah amassed as many as seven future first-round picks, plus a few swaps.

The catch is that the Jazz still owes a first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder as the price for dumping Derrick Favors’ contract three years ago. That pick is protected from 1-10 next year, giving the Jazz a considerable incentive to tank ahead of the loaded 2025 draft. If Ainge thinks long-term, the pick is protected 1-8 in 2026.

Markkanen will likely spend another year out of the playoffs and another summer on the trade block. Ainge has essentially bet that either the Timberwolves, Cavaliers or Lakers, who owe Utah a first-round pick (protected 1-4) in 2027, will be bad enough in a few seasons to make their picks valuable. But the 27-year-old Markkanen is good now. He doesn’t fit the timeline of his team, which has six players who are 20 years old or younger from the past two drafts.

Markkanen certainly cashed in with this new contract. But don’t expect him to be on the Jazz for the life of this contract. Or even past next season.