There is a lot of talk these days about Lauri Markkanen’s trade value. After a resurgent season with the Utah Jazz, which further shows how much worse they are when he’s not playing. Markkanen is known to be available, but at such a high price that the suitor would be giving up more than he is comfortable with. Seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry thinks so, as he revealed that this will require a surefire young cornerstone.
On his “Big Shot Bob” podcast, Horry Cooper mentioned Flagg as an example of the type of player the Jazz would want in a hypothetical Markkanen trade, while making it clear that the Jazz star isn’t going anywhere for that reason.
“If you really think about his talent, this guy is a very, very good talent,” Horry said. “He’s good. He’s not going anywhere. The only person you would trade him for would be someone like Cooper Flagg.”
(Horry also humorously referred to his “best friend Danny Ainge,” which is pretty humorous if you know their history.)
Flagg entered the NBA as a budding franchise player, and while he didn’t burst onto the scene, he certainly lived up to the hype. The Mavericks still messed up when they traded Luka Doncic, but Flagg should help them forget that in due time.
For that reason, the Jazz would have every right to set the bar equal to that of a Flag-like player if teams want Markkanen. The only way they would part ways is if they get a player with both the talent and potential to not only be as good as him, but better.
There aren’t that many players who meet that high bar
Flagg has the talent to be better than Markkanen, but there’s only one of him, and while the Mavericks have certainly been a bit notoriously reckless with the way they’ve managed their players over the past year, it’s fair to assume Flagg isn’t going anywhere for a while.
By proxy, it’s also hard to see that there are many young players who are guaranteed to give the Jazz a better future than Markkanen. Could Victor Wembanyama do that? Sure, but like Flagg, he’s one of the most untouchable players in the NBA. Paolo Banchero is an exciting young talent, but we may have reached a stage where he should be asking whether he is indisputably better than Markkanen.
All of this is to confirm what has been reported but is still being debated: Markkanen will remain with the Jazz. Utah is not yet at a point where it needs to get rid of him, and all indications are that the goal is to win with him starting next season. The only way we’ll know if this is the right plan is when they put it into practice, in October.
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