Jazz rumors: Lauri Markkanen to draw trade interest again but there’s a catch…
The Jazz could be looking to deal Lauri Markkanen after getting no luck in Monday night’s NBA Draft Lottery.
By Troy FinneganMay 13, 2025 at 5:24 PM ET
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Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) shoots a technical free throw during the first quarter against the Chicago Bulls at Delta Center.
The Utah Jazz were one of the worst teams in the NBA this season as Will Hardy tried to get his young guys plenty of game experience down the back half of the season. The bet was that the Jazz would be picking high in the NBA Draft as a result of their struggles, but that isn’t necessarily the case.
The ping pong balls were not kind to the Jazz at all, and now Utah will be picking No. 5 overall despite having the worst record in the NBA in 2024-25 at 17-65. While that is still a good pick in a very good draft class, it is far from the haul that is Cooper Flagg or Dylan Harper at the very top.
Now, the Jazz enter another offseason wondering what to do with their roster, especially star forward Lauri Markkanen. The former Cleveland Cavaliers standout has been the subject of trade rumors for years now, but his value is lower now after a contract extension, some injuries and a down season overall.
Still, if the Jazz want to move completely toward their young core with whoever they add at No. 5 this summer, they could still look to move off of Markkanen and other teams will be interested, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.
Grading the Jazz: Walker Kessler rebounded from his sophomore slump with a noteworthy 2024-25 season..
It turns out that there is already an idiom that perfectly describes Walker Kessler‘s second NBA season — a sophomore slump. That was, of course, after his wowing rookie season that took the league by surprise.
So, coming into his third season, it was a real will he? or won’t he? situation. If he was going to prove that his rookie campaign was not an anomaly, that instead it was the 2023-24 year that was a fluke mixed with some growing pains, then he was going to have to have a really convincingly successful 2024-25 season.
Well, I’ve got great news — Kessler rebounded better than anyone could have imagined (pun intended).
Walker Kessler — A
There are five things that stood out for Kessler this season and all of them were positive.
Mentally, he entered the season determined and dedicated to approaching the game differently. He said he realized after his second season that he was not playing joyfully, was not playing with gratitude and that he reached out for help from therapists and sports physiologists. Ultimately he ended up going easier on himself when he made mistakes and was just playing for the love of the game again.
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The shift in how he handled losses, bad nights, mistakes, and the overall situation with the Jazz was drastically different. He still struggles sometimes to maintain a level of positivity but knowing that he’s working on it is impressive by itself. Also, there were moments during the season where it seemed that Kessler just had a level of understanding about the care and effort needed in games and the way that players should respond to their own performances that a number of the younger players on the team lack.
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