Utah
Utah Jazz’s Lauri Markkanen Floated in Trade Rumors With 76ers
Could the Utah Jazz look into a Lauri Markkanen trade once again this summer?
When asking around the league, a few teams seem to think that possibility is yet again on the table for the Jazz front office.
According to ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony, some teams across the NBA expect the Philadelphia 76ers to investigate a trade involving their third-overall pick, and Markkanen, along with Kevin Durant, could be potential targets.
“Some teams expect the Sixers to be active in trade conversations, with names such as Kevin Durant (Phoenix) and Lauri Markkanen (Utah) as potential targets in packages that could include Paul George and the No. 3 pick,” Givony said. “Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has made a career of being active and aggressive on the trade front, but historically, it’s rare to see a top-three pick being traded.”
The Jazz silenced any and all trade chatter on Markkanen at the end of last summer heading into the 2024-25 campaign by inking him to a five-year, $280 million extension, effectively placing a trade restriction on his services throughout the entirety of the regular season.
But now, the offseason is getting underway. That trade restriction is no longer in play, and with it could come a change of tune from the Jazz brass concerning a Markkanen trade, if they see an opportunity come their way that they like. Perhaps a trade into the top three to acquire a young franchise cornerstone could be the move to push the needle.
Markkanen comes off an injury-ravaged and up-and-down season, one where he played in 47 contests to average 19.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists on 42.3% shooting from the field. While not up to the standards he’s posted for the past two years in Utah, the league knows what Markkanen can do at his best, and maybe for Philadelphia, he could be the win-now piece they covet more than a young prospect.
However, it still remains up in the air if this Jazz front office truly wants to part ways with their star talent in Markkanen. Just last offseason, we saw how highly Utah valued their All-Star forward in trade rumors with those like the Golden State Warriors, where the saga ended in their asking price being too high, and inevitably putting pen to paper on a new extension.
Could the Jazz have changed their mindset after one year into Markkanen’s contract? It’s hard to say, but to pick up a long-aspired high-ceiling young player into the top three of the draft, maybe Utah finally ends up pulling that trigger.
Though with an executive like Danny Ainge at the helm, it’s hard to map out how any offseason could eventually transpire. This time around is no different.
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Jon Anderson will be charged with moving the Orem school forward following the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on campus last year.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Incoming UVU President Jon Anderson poses for a photo with his family after an event announcing his selection at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, July 17, 2026.
Utah
Beaver County residents set up thousands of sandbags ahead of flashfloods
BEAVER COUNTY, Utah — A massive community effort is underway as volunteers and Beaver County crews distribute thousands of sandbags to protect homes from the potential path of floodwaters.
After the Cottonwood Fires, residents have been waiting for weeks for relief to come in the form of rain, though officials now warn it may come all at once with an increased risk of flooding and debris flow.
Emergency Service Director Les Whitney believes that the fire has left plenty of debris to bring trouble for residents.
“We got a lot of water. We’re bringing debris with it, so tree branches, tree limbs, logs, lots of different size firewood, and that’s all in the creeks. We’re worried about that plugging up our bridges and stuff, so we have heavy equipment and excavators located in strategic places so that we can keep those bridges open,” said Whitney.
An estimated 140 homes and condominiums were spared from the flames, but remain in the paths of floodwaters.
Residents can also pick up sandbags at the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office or at the Beaver County Rodeo Fairgrounds.
Utah
Utah man arrested again for allegedly abusing dog twice in three months
EAGLE MOUNTAIN — An Eagle Mountain man currently on pretrial release in 4th District Court who is accused of abusing his dog has been arrested again for allegedly punching the same animal.
Keith Reaves Davis, 43, was booked into the Utah County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of aggravated cruelty to an animal.
Utah County sheriff’s deputies were called Wednesday afternoon to a grocery store on a report that a man was beating his dog after it had gotten off its leash and was stopped by a bystander, according to a police booking affidavit.
“I reviewed security camera footage from the grocery store, and an individual matching the description of the suspect was seen holding the dog in the air by one paw and repeatedly striking the dog on the right hind leg area. I observed the male strike the dog several times before dropping the dog from approximately 1-2 feet. The strikes appeared to be as hard as the male could hit,” the arresting deputy wrote in the affidavit. “The dog did not cry out or whimper as if the dog was accustomed to the abuse.”
When questioned, Davis “admitted to striking the dog because it was not behaving,” the affidavit states.
An animal control officer who responded to the scene to take custody of the dog noted it was the same dog he had taken from Davis exactly three months earlier during another animal abuse investigation.
In that case, Davis was charged in 4th District Court with aggravated cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor; and public intoxication, a class C misdemeanor, after deputies received a tip from a neighbor that a dog was being abused at Davis’ home, according to charging documents. When questioned, Davis “acknowledged hitting his dog as punishment,” the charges state.
Deputies also reviewed videos that the neighbor had filmed. The neighbor told investigators “there was blood from the dog on the ground of the garage and (the neighbor) can hear the dog screaming as if it’s being hurt. Deputies got the videos from the (neighbor) and you can hear very loudly the dog screaming and crying with a lot of loud banging noises. In one of the videos, you can hear the dog sounding like it is being choked by a collar and is grasping for air,” a police booking affidavit states.
Davis’ next court hearing in the April case is scheduled for July 28.
In their latest booking report, sheriff’s deputies note that they “believe further harm will be inflicted on this dog if it is released back to the male a second time,” and have recommended the dog not be returned to Davis.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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