Utah
Jazz Have ‘No Motivation’ to Trade Lauri Markkanen per Insider
Hold the phone on the rumors of the Utah Jazz trading Lauri Markkanen. According to Jazz beat writer Tony Jones of The Athletic, there’s no motivation to trade Markkanen, but Utah does have a thresh hold that would need to be met if a trade were to come to fruition. Jones shared his insight when he joined 95.7 The Game.
“It’s different than Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. The Jazz had motivation for different reasons for both of those guys to trade – both of those guys. There’s no motivation to trade Lauri Markkanen. He’s a star-level player that’s happy in Utah, and you know, the Jazz can grow with the young guys on their roster. If they’re going to trade Lauri, there’s a thresh hold that has to be met, and only they can answer that question.”
“Golden State has an offer on the table and it’s substantial [for Lauri Markkanen]. I think offers are heavily pick-based… What complicates it is the Warriors only have two unprotected picks, plus a protected first rounder.” – @Tjonesonthenba
🎧 https://t.co/ANAKvyx8kV pic.twitter.com/ecGgUOlqBm
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) July 5, 2024
Markkanen has been the talk of the NBA this week. The dominoes have fallen on the big-name free agents and All-Star caliber players rumored to be traded this offseason. With Markkanen being the last one standing, the rumors have been coming in rapidly.
If you believe the oddsmakers, Markkanen has an equal chance of suiting up for the Golden State Warriors as the Jazz. DraftKings has both teams listed at +250 to retain his services. In contrast, the San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings, and Oklahoma City Thunder have a puncher’s chance of pulling off a deal, per DraftKings.
The Jazz are certainly stuck between a rock and a hard place with Markkanen. Luring free agents to Salt Lake City can be difficult, and being on the verge of signing Markkanen to an extension while he is in his prime feels like a no-brainer. However, the 2025 draft class is projected to be stacked, and by keeping Markkanen, the Jazz could be missing out on a top-five selection.
From this point of view, the Jazz could have their cake and eat it, too. Even with Markkanen, the Jazz could bottom out in an effort to draft in the top-5. Utah is on pace to have six rostered players that have been drafted in the last two years. All it would take is trading the likes of Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson, John Collins, or Walker Kessler. If we’re being honest, a combination of any two of these players should do the trick.
This assumes that Utah isn’t blown away with an offer it can’t refuse. As Jones said, we don’t know exactly what is being offered, but we have to assume that for Ainge to pull the trigger, the Jazz would have to get more than the haul the Brooklyn Nets received from the New York Knicks in the Mikal Bridges trade. The Nets received:
Hopefully, Jazz fans can resolve the matter sooner rather than later, but until then, expect the rumors to keep coming.
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Utah
Keller wins it in OT, Mammoth recover from Jets’ late rally | NHL.com
The goal was Connor’s 300th in the NHL. He is the third player in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history to hit the mark, behind Scheifele (353) and Ilya Kovalchuk (328).
“Just a pretty cool milestone,” Connor said. “Once you look back on your career, that’s kind of the stuff you’ll remember. But right now it’s focusing on winning, trying to be the best player I can, and helping out.”
Connor scored his second goal at 15:23 of the third period, beating Vejmelka blocker side with a one-timer to cut the lead to 3-2.
“I think we just knew that we needed to be better,” Connor said of the comeback. “I think we were on our toes more, jumping and making plays and hemming them in.”
Barron scored just 25 seconds later, beating Vejmelka glove side with a snap shot tie it 3-3.
“That first period was ugly. It was really ugly,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “We got better in the second, certainly dominated in the third, but at the end of the day, you can’t play two periods in this league and look to have success.”
Crouse gave the Mammoth a 1-0 lead at 5:20 of the first period. Guenther skated in from the blue line and shot through the legs of Jets defenseman Logan Stanley to put the puck on Hellebuyck. The rebound of his shot then found Crouse in front, where he scored blocker side with a slap shot.
“We made it interesting on ourselves,” Crouse said. “Definitely not the way we wanted the third period to go, but credit to our group, that’s not easy. They scored two right away and then we went right into OT pretty much, so credit to the group for having the right mindset and being able to get the win.”
Utah
Utah man with autism found after 10-day search
SALT LAKE CITY — August Beckwith, a 29-year-old Utah man with autism, has been found safe after disappearing for a second time in a matter of weeks.
“We are overjoyed and deeply grateful,” Lori Beckwith, August Beckwith’s mother, said in a post on Facebook Sunday. “Thank you to the many remarkable people who helped with compassion and kindness throughout. Wishing everyone a loving and peaceful Christmas.”
Beckwith had been missing for 24 days after disappearing from the University of Utah campus on Nov. 17. Lori Beckwith, August’s mother, had taken to Facebook to report when he had first been found.
The Beckwith family wishes for privacy at this time.
This story may be updated.
Utah
UDOT celebrates early opening of Mountain View Corridor connection to Utah County
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The Mountain View Corridor project connecting Salt Lake and Utah Counties was completed early, opening just in time for holiday travel.
The Utah Department of Transportation celebrated the early completion of the years-long project in a Friday event, with attendees able to walk the new road and take photos with Santa. The road and trails were opened to traffic after the event.
UDOT officials posted a video of the celebration, with the caption reading, in part, “This road and these trails are now yours.”
Commenters praised their work on the project—and the video itself—with some saying they’ve already driven on the new road.
“I almost cried when I went on the corridor today! It was done sooner than I thought so thank you!” one commenter wrote.
Another user called it the “best Christmas gift EVER!”
MORE | Mountain View Corridor:
Some Utahns were less pleased, bringing up concerns about the lights not operating correctly on the north end or complaints about future construction.
However, the video itself addressed the negative comments UDOT receives, specifically complaints about constant construction.
“The truth is, if you want a DOT that never does anything and therefore never inconveniences you…Well, that just ain’t us,” the post read. “We don’t do construction to you, we do it FOR you, because we ARE you. We all live here too.”
The Mountain View Corridor project, also known as the 2100 North Freeway Project, was designed to improve east-to-west traffic flow between I-15 and Redwood Road in Lehi. It also included “shared-use-paths” for pedestrians and cyclists.
UDOT officials said Redwood Road is one of the most congested roads in Utah County, following Interstate 15 and Pioneer Crossing.
Officials expect this could reduce Redwood Road delays by 75% and also help alleviate I-15 traffic in the area.
The project began in Spring 2024, with construction expected to finish in Spring 2026. UDOT officials said the project was completed four months ahead of schedule.
In order to complete the road and trails, crews moved 1.5 million tons of dirt and paved more than 350,000 square yards of concrete and asphalt.
“This new stretch of Mountain View Corridor provides meaningful relief for drivers in fast-growing Utah County,” said Carlos Braceras, UDOT Executive Director. “Opening this stretch ahead of schedule improves regional connectivity and provides drivers with safer, more dependable travel options as the area continues to grow.”
While the new extension is complete, UDOT officials plan to continue to extend the Mountain View Corridor in the future. They said the goal is for it to be a 35-mile freeway connecting Interstate 80 in Salt Lake County to State Route 73 in Utah County.
The next phase of the project is planned to begin in 2027 and will address the stretch from Porter Rockwell Boulevard in Herriman to Old Bingham Highway in West Jordan.
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