Misleading title. He says the Rockets have the young pcs to make an offer, not that they're actually interested or engaged in talks with them.
I like the player OK. He hast to be set up and he hast to be compensated around defensively. And you pretty much have to decide are you playing him inside or outside. I actually don’t know enough about him to know where his defensive strength (if any) is. It doesn’t seem like you could build a successful interior with him so I am guessing you are using him as a jumbo small forward/wing. So around him, you are having to outfit a lineup with three people probably that can create their own shot and three above average defenders. Sengun (I think the offensive fit with Lauri is amazing, but defensive fit eh.) Smith (Similar to Markannen and that he needs offense created for him. Provides some length And defensive rebounding BUT there is little shot blocking in the front court. Markannen Tari- Does not create offense. Does create second chance points. Makes a lot of defense plays and can help a little bit with the lack of shot blocking. Good spot up shooter from three Amen- Becomes primary PG. Defense with him/Tari/Jabari would be a good start. He would likely benefit because the spacing would be pretty good, especially when running pick and roll with Alpi. They run a lot of pick and roll where amen is actually rolling. I know that Fred would probably start this coming year, but I don’t know. I just don’t see a lot of synergy in the trade.
Jazz just needs a stellar future allstar sg. Jalen is the answer, he can take all the shots and they can pay him a max contract.
Like most sensible people, I like Markkanen as a player because he has a very good skillset on offense. But the thought of (1) giving up major assets and then (2) maxing out a player with his games played history is scary. IMO, the Jazz will end up keeping him long term because nobody will meet Ainge's price. Stone is just like Morey used to be in that he's in every possible conversation but actually makes very few major trades.
What is the price? Jalen and 2 FRPs....sure..... Cam, Tari and 2 Frps - maybe Bari and 2 FRPs - yes Jalen and Bari for him - probably Just depends.... DD
Jalen and Jabari would be a good consolidation move: two players you anticipated maxing out when you drafted them, but neither look to be attaining that level for their second contracts. Max Lauri and Sengun, then have a few years to see who else emerges. That’s an easy one for me, if, as suggested above, Lauri’s game totals are due to Jazz tanking.
You would need 3 all world defenders around lauri and sengun. You would have absolutely zero rim protection from your 2 bigs, so while it would be fun, it would be pointless in the long run. Jabari improved a ton from his rookie to 2nd season, i think he should be borderline untouchable at this point.
So you trade two of your core (21 & 22) for a guy who you're going to have to pay max money, who misses 25 games a year (average) and has never led a team anywhere. And if you make the deal, Markkanen will have been traded for the third time in 8 years. Pass for me.
Realistically, given that it's Danny Ainge we're talking about, the bare minimum he'd accept would probably be something like Jalen + Jabari + one potentially good first rounder + one protected far-future pick Personally I think that's too much for Lauri given his injury history and age. If we did make such a deal, I'd root for Lauri (I've got nothing against him as a person or player) and hope for the best, but I think it would be setting us up for some major salary cap problems in a couple of years, and I'm not convinced it's enough to make us a true contender in the meantime.
I like Markkanen. How old is he? He is an excellent example of waiting on a young player to develop and finally "get" it. I'd rather wait on Jabari and Jalen to do the same.
This will be his age 27 season. He's also probably the most shocking development example in history, at least that i can remember.
The Jazz to-tank-or-not-to-tank is interesting. For the haul of picks they have: Minny (Gobert) and Cleveland (Donovan)... those likely are not top 15. Their own might end up being the most valuable in 2025, unless they decide to go in full tank. The CLE/MIN picks are better in a trade than actual consumption. For Cooper & friends, there's a likely chance they will tank hard. They can full tank by resting certain guys like Lauri, they don't have to get rid of him in order to full tank.
Yep, Ainge maybe too clever for his own good. They are kinda screwed. You either blow it up and rebuild or you don’t, especially when your team is based in Salt Lake City.
