NBA Trade Rumors: 3-Team Blockbuster Proposal Lands Markkanen with Lakers

With LeBron James potentially in his final season with the Los Angeles Lakers, the team will be on the hunt for a legit No. 2 star to line up with Luka Doncic for the future.

A new 3-team trade proposal from Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report would send the ideal complementary star for Doncic to LA, in Laurie Markkanen. The deal, per Bailey, would go down like this:

LA Lakers Receive:

Lauri Markkanen

Utah Jazz Receieve:

Terry Rozier
Rui Hachimura
Gabe Vincent
Dalton Knecht
2026 first-round pick from L.A.
2031 first-round pick from L.A.
2031 first-round pick from Miami

Heat Receive:

Austin Reaves
Svi Mykhailiuk

For the Lakers, Markkanen, 28, is still young enough to be a part of their future, and with Doncic as his leading man, Markkanen would be "better suited as a high-end finisher than an offensive center of gravity," as he is in Utah, writes Bailey.

Why would the Jazz want to trade their only star player, Markkanen? As insider Mark Stein reported, the offers will be coming fast & furious for the star shooter, who likely has had enough in Utah:

"The 7-footer is entering his ninth NBA season and has still yet to play in a single playoff game... Is this what Markkanen signed up for when he inked a five-year contract extension with the Jazz worth nearly $240 million in August 2024?

"Count on Utah's phones ringing often between now and February with trade interest in The Finnisher," says Stein.

And what do they get back in this proposed deal? "This deal makes the Jazz worse in the short term. That's good for lottery odds," writes Bailey. "Long term, it always helps to have more picks, and this framework gives them three."

For Miami, they get another much-needed scorer in Reaves, and as Bailey notes, he is adept at "getting into the teeth of a defense and forcing it to collapse. That would give (Tyler) Herro and (Norman) Powell more high-efficiency catch-and-shoot opportunities."