The Utah Jazz have been one of the most disappointing teams so far through the first half of the 2023-24 NBA regular season, and are in desperate need of finding a way to salvage their campaign.
As such, NBA insider Mark Medina believes that their All-Star forward, Lauri Markkanen, could potentially find himself on the trade block as one of their biggest trade assets, despite being Utah’s leading offensive contributor.
Utah are two seasons removed from blowing up their roster that once included Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, who boast seven All-Star selections between them, and while the Jazz were expected to fall short last year in the wake of their rebuild, they weren’t expected to be as flat during this campaign as they have so far shown themselves to be.
Sitting 12th in the Western Conference with a 15-19 losing record, the Jazz have had little to celebrate so far this year, with countless nonchalant performances, one of which was exposed by the Dallas Mavericks when they administered Utah their second-largest defeat in franchise history after winning by 50 points.
Perhaps one of their lone highlights of the season at its midpoint is that veteran Jordan Clarkson registered the Jazz’ first triple-double since Carlos Boozer in 2008, ironically in their subsequent meeting with the Mavericks, avenging their 50-point loss with a 37-point blowout of their own.
With disappointing-upon-disappointing performances, though having gone 7-3 in their last 10 games, their best streak so far this season, it hasn’t stopped the trade rumor mill swirling, with reports that the Jazz may be active ahead of the looming February deadline in an attempt to somewhat salvage their season.
