Could Lauri Markkanen be the Brooklyn Nets' missing piece?

According to Sam Quinn of CBS Sports, Lauri Markannenn could be on the move this summer and not return to the Utah Jazz, especially since the 2023 inaugural All-Star will see his contract expire in 2025. Last season, Markannen averaged by 23.2 points. and 8.2 rebounds on 48% shooting from the field to go with 40% accuracy from downtown.

With the 27-year-old as their option number this year, the Jazz finished with a 31-51 record, missing the playoffs as the 12th seed. In the 2022-23 campaign, Utah again finished as the 12th seed, but was just one game behind the 2024 Western Conference champions, the Dallas Mavericks, and three games behind the Oklahoma Thunder City, top seed 2023-24. It's quite a ask for Markannen to keep the Jazz afloat as their number one option alongside younger players, which makes it all the more interesting to see how he would fare alongside the Nets and their more experienced players.

Right now, the Jazz forward finds himself in one of the elite categories of players averaging at least 20 points on at least 40% shooting from three. The spacing with Markannen in Brooklyn's starting lineup would be impeccable. He's exactly the player the Chicago Bulls were looking for all along when they traded him on draft night, but he wasn't quite there when he arrived with the Bulls.

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