The Jazz Wonderbra
Well-Known Member
First off, ChatGPT confirmed that Lauri IS tradeable and has been since just after the trade deadline. He wasn't tradeable for 6 months post signing. He signed in August but that ended in Feb.
Most years in the history of following this team, if the Jazz were trading for a player of Lauri's caliber we would all be ecstatic.
To suggest he had no value or negative value in a season where we were clearly trying to tank is like devaluing Bill Gates fortune because he spent $6 billion one year trying to completely eradicate Polio. Yeah, fortune dropped, but it is still Bill Gates.
I believe the window on "big game hunting" closed somewhere over this past season. All of our future draft picks have depreciated enough in value that any "big game hunting" nets a team a tier below the team we blew up to get all those house chips.Lauri has plenty of value. GM's are not misled by the Jazz doing everything they could to be crappy. If Danny has any inkling of still doing "big game" hunting you have to hold on to Lauri. It is also why you dont tie your hands with a trade for Dame. If we trade Lauri it is an open admission that our big game tactics have no chance.
I would definitely do both of these trades.I'd do something like:
Jazz receive: Paul George, #3 pick
76ers receive: Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, #21 pick, #43 pick
or
Jazz receive: Harrison Barnes, Keldon Johnson, #2 pick, #14 pick
Spurs receive: Lauri Markkanen, #5 pick, #21 pick
I could maybe see philly doing it. I think Lauri and clarkson make them better than PG does and gives them a shot at winning the east.The problem is neither of those teams would do this trade.
They could pick VJ, one of the few players in this draft with legit star potential.The #3 pick likely wont do much for them.
I think there is a fair amount of building pressure to still try and find big game so I agree to disagree. We are poorly positioned to do so but I doubt the hunt is over. Trading Lauri and or taking on a contract like Dame's is waving the white flag - and admitting we blew it by putzing around in limbo for several years before committing to a path.I believe the window on "big game hunting" closed somewhere over this past season. All of our future draft picks have depreciated enough in value that any "big game hunting" nets a team a tier below the team we blew up to get all those house chips.
We can still use the chips at the bar, though, and for tipping the waitress while we're losing our hand.
Continuing to tank is really the best path forward from here. It's not because that's necessarily the best path. It's because of our choices that now it's the only path.
I don't know if that means selling off Lauri because that seems like another $1 bill for 15 nickels proposition, but it's also hard to envision holding on to a great guy in his prime when our team, under a very "speedy" upswing given our current cards, has us maybe being relevant in 5+ years (optimistically).
I would argue that a win now team like philly probably values potential less than the other lottery teams that are in rebuild mode. I assume they would prefer sure thing win now pieces.They could pick VJ, one of the few players in this draft with legit star potential.
I believe that pressure is there and I believe you'll still have talking heads come out and say stuff like that, kind of like a hypothetical one-upping like when Ryan said we could do the Kevin Durant trade three times or whatever it was he said. The reality is, is that we don't have assets to hunt "big game." Unless our definition of big game would be someone like Zion or Trae Young.I think there is a fair amount of building pressure to still try and find big game so I agree to disagree. We are poorly positioned to do but I doubt the hunt is over. Trading Lauri and or taking on a contract like Dame's is waving the white flag - and admitting we blew it by putzing around in limbo for several years before committing to a path.
Both of these are good for both sides and reasonable/make sense for both teams, IMOI'd do something like:
Jazz receive: Paul George, #3 pick
76ers receive: Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, #21 pick, #43 pick
or
Jazz receive: Harrison Barnes, Keldon Johnson, #2 pick, #14 pick
Spurs receive: Lauri Markkanen, #5 pick, #21 pick