Utah Jazz Reportedly Open To Trading Their Top Star

The Utah Jazz are in the midst of a rebuild, and while they have some intriguing young talents, this doesn't appear to be a team ready to contend for the NBA Playoffs in the loaded Western Conference. With the team now clearly looking to build around the likes of Ace Bailey, Kyle Filipowski, and Brice Sensabaugh, among others, they could be open to moving some big names.

Those names include Walker Kessler and Lauri Markkanen, the latter of whom has been involved in plenty of trade speculation over the past few years. For the most part, Danny Ainge has rejected any interest in him, but according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, the team is now very open to moving him.

Markkanen enters the 2025-26 season on the back of a red-hot performance at the EuroBasket tournament for Finland, showing off why many believe he is a genuine game-changer at the NBA level. In his career between Chicago, Cleveland, and Utah, Markkanen has averaged 18 points per night, with his career high of 25 points coming in his first season with the Jazz, when he was named to the All-Star team.

It's unclear exactly what the offers are or would be for Markkanen and whether or not the team is going to actively shop him or simply take in interest, but given that he's 28 years of age, it makes sense for them to move him rather than keep him as they look to go through a rebuild.