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.
Follow Inside The Jazz on Facebook and Twitter/X, and subscribe to YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live streams!
SALT LAKE CITY — A California man in Utah, as part of his duties with the National Guard, is accused of trying to solicit sex from a young teenager.
Joshua Ruben Rodriguez, 29, of Fresno, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with attempted rape of a child, a first-degree felony, and enticement of a minor, a second-degree felony.
The investigation began when an agent with the Utah State Bureau of Investigation posed as a 13-year-old girl on a “popular social media site … in an attempt to locate and apprehend adults attempting to have sexual contact with children,” according to charging documents.
On April 16, Rodriguez sent the agent a message — believing he was talking to a teen girl — that stated, “I’ll be direct with you, I would like to get to know you and (have sex with) your mind into a daze to where you feel like a woman,” according to charging documents.
When the “girl” asked if he had a problem with her age, Rodriguez replied, “I don’t have a problem with your age,” the charges state.
The agent told Rodriguez to meet at an apartment complex in Salt Lake County where the girl lived, claiming her mother would be gone. When Rodriguez arrived, he was taken into custody, the charges state.
“(Rodriguez) does not have ties to Utah. He is a resident of Fresno, California. (He) was in town as part of his military service with the California National Guard,” prosecutors stated in charging documents while requesting he be held without bail pending trial.
ST. GEORGE, Utah (KUTV) — One person was hospitalized at the St. George Regional Hospital after a car rolled and caught fire just south of the Utah-Arizona border.
The Beaver Dam and Littlefield Fire Department in Arizona said its crews responded to the crash near the Black Rock Road exit – roughly two miles south of the state border – on Sunday night.
Upon arrival, crews put out the car fire and found the driver had left the scene. A single occupant, who was able to get out of the car on their own, was transported to the hospital by a Beaver Dam ambulance.
MORE | Crashes
Their condition has not been publicly released.
Details on what led to the crash and the condition of the driver were not immediately available.
The Beaver Dam and Littlefield Fire Department said law enforcement investigated the scene.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
_____
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz missed out on the NBA Playoffs, but still scored a big win thanks to a coin flip.
In Monday’s tiebreaker coin flip to determine who had the fourth-worst record in the league last season, the Jazz came out winners over the Sacramento Kings, who had the same 22-60 record.
Had the Jazz lost the coin flip, they would have been fifth in NBA Draft Lottery odds. Only the worst four teams are guaranteed to remain within the top eight of the lottery.
If Utah had fallen to fifth, there would have been the chance they could have dropped out of the top 8 teams in the lottery, and owed the draft pick to Oklahoma City, which was top-8 protected in a previous trade.
The Jazz now have an 11.5 percent chance to win the first overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, which is scheduled for Sunday, May 10.
-
Denver, CO10 seconds agoMotorcyclist seriously injured in Denver hit-and-run crash – AOL
-
Seattle, WA6 minutes agoBrock: 2 drafts fits at edge rusher for Seattle Seahawks
-
San Diego, CA12 minutes agoJoseph Allen Oviatt – San Diego Union-Tribune
-
Milwaukee, WI18 minutes agoMilwaukee Brewers overpower Detroit Tigers to win 12-4
-
Atlanta, GA24 minutes agoWhat this food hall could mean for a south Atlanta neighborhood
-
Minneapolis, MN30 minutes agoEllison, Minneapolis, St. Paul update lawsuit against Operation Metro Surge with new data
-
Indianapolis, IN36 minutes agoIndianapolis, Carmel area fails air pollution measures in new report
-
Pittsburg, PA42 minutes agoCallie DiSabato: Unregulated short-term rentals hurt Pittsburgh