The Utah Jazz have signed All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen to a massive 5 year extension worth $238M the club announced Wednesday.
The deal voids his current contract, and tacks on an additional 4 years beyond the upcoming season. Markkanen was scheduled to earn $18M during the 2024-25 NBA season before becoming a free agent. The new pact with Utah will earn the 27 year old $220M in new money.
“It’s a weight off my shoulders and I can focus only one the main thing now: playing basketball at a high level,” Markkanen told ESPN in a phone interview. “I don’t stress about it, but you can’t pretend you don’t hear that stuff. It’s a good feeling knowing that I’m going to be in Utah.”
The 7′ Finnish forward averaged 23.2pts/8.2reb/2ast per game in 2023-24, while shooting 39.9% from beyond the arc. Markkanen had been the subject of several offseason trade rumours as multiple NBA front offices were reportedly in active talks with the Jazz to acquire his services.
However, with the new deal in place, Markkanen is now prohibited from being traded for at least the next 6 months under the terms of the current CBA. This would take him past the 2025 NBA trade deadline, meaning that for at least the next season, Markkanen will be staying in Utah.
The late blossoming forward is certainly well travelled in his professional career thus far. After being selected 7th overall in the 2017 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, the former Arizona Wildcat was traded to Chicago as part of the ill fated Jimmy Butler deal. From there he was flipped to Cleveland, before being one of the key pieces in the Donovan Mitchell trade which landed him in Utah.
Over the course of his 403 game NBA career, Markkanen has averaged 18.1pts/7.3reb/1.5ast per contest, but has seen his 3 point percentage rise in each of the last three campaigns. With his size and ability to stretch the floor, Markkanen has quickly become a coveted piece for teams with championship aspirations across the league.
For now however, he can focus on putting all his energy into helping guide Utah back to the postseason for the first time since 2021-22.
Photo: Tuomas Vitikainen. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.