Three-party trading simulation: Markkanen joins hands with James & Doncic, the Lakers form a new three giants

Translator's note: The original text was published in Bleacher Report. The data in the article were as of the time of the original text (September 5 local time). The dates and times involved were all local time

Three years ago, the transaction between Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell showed that the Jazz were ready for a radical reconstruction, but they slowed down the pace of demolition to some extent in the next two seasons.

In the 2024-25 season, they began to play unconcealedly. Although they had the highest probability of the league pick at the end of the season, they eventually slipped to the fifth pick and still lacked a young and reliable cornerstone for team building.

This makes Lauri Markanen the focus of trading rumors. Of course he is not old at the age of 28, but he is not a potential new star either. And while he showed star-level talent in the NBA, he might be more suitable to be a top-level ending point than an offensive core.

Perhaps most importantly, Markkanen is probably over thirty years old when the rest of the Jazz's young roster is ready to compete for a playoff spot.

So, when Mark Kanen once again played dominant performance for the Finnish men's basketball team in the European Championships, it was no surprise that senior NBA journalist Mark Stein broke news about his potential transfer.

"By the end of this month, he will return to Salt Lake City to a team with a record of 17 wins and 65 losses last season and may not have any improvement this season. Is this what Markanen expected to sign the Jazz's nearly $240 million five-year early contract renewal worth nearly $240 million in August 2024?" Stein wrote. "The 7-foot (about 2.13 meters) big man is about to enter his ninth NBA season, but has not played a playoff game so far. It can be predicted that from now until February, the Jazz's phone will ring continuously because of the team's interest in the Finnish star's trading interest."

The Lakers, who have successfully won Luca Doncic, are still in a period of excitement, should be one of the teams to make this call. Below, we designed a deal that will bring one of the league’s best “receivers” to the new “quarterback” in Los Angeles. In addition, we have also found a way to supplement some offensive firepower for the Heat.

Trading Plan

Before we go deeper into why each team does this, let's take a look at the entire trading plan.

Jazz gets: Terry Rozier, Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Dalton Knector, a 2026 first-round pick from the Lakers, a 2031 first-round pick from the Lakers and a 2031 first-round pick from the Heat

Jazz loses: Lauri Markanen, Sviatoslav Mikhailiuk

Lakers get: Lauri Markanen

Lakers get: Lauri Markanen

Lakers People lost: Hachimura, Austin Reeves, Gab Vincent, Dalton Knector, a 2026 first-round pick and a 2031 first-round pick

Heat get: Austin Reeves and Sviatoslav Mikhailiuk

Heat lose: Terry Rozier and a 2031 first-round pick as usual, so don't worry too much about the number of draft picks involved. Some of the smaller contracts included may also be debatable. The most important part is the basic framework. And we will explain why everyone should be interested in this framework.

The Jazz gets more assets (and better chances of playing badly)

The Jazz gets: Terry Rozier, Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Dalton Knector, a 2026 first-round pick from the Lakers, a 2031 first-round pick from the Lakers and a 2031 first-round pick from the Heat, the Jazz loses: Lauri Markanen, Sviatoslav Mikhailiuk

The goal here is very clear. The deal made the Jazz worse in the short term, which was good for their lottery pick. The Basketball God may not be friendly to them this summer, but may reward their persistence with the 2026 No. 1 pick.

A better chance to hit a high pick can be counted as a short-term victory. It always helps to have more draft picks in the long run, and this trading scheme gives them three draft picks (by transferring Reeves to the Heat).

The deal also provides a room for young forwards like Es Bailey (the fifth pick this year), Taylor Hendricks (who played only three games in his second season and was reimbursed for injury) and even Kyle Filipovsky (who may have enough outside skills to partner Walker Kessler for a short time).

Apart from that, this may be a chain transaction, and its full returns will not appear immediately. In a few months, Hachimura Hachimura played well in the rebuilding Jazz, he could earn more returns by the February trade deadline.

The Lakers join the championship ranks

The Lakers get: Laurie Markanen

The Lakers lose: Hachimura, Austin Reeves, Gab Vincent, Dalton Kneckett, a 2026 first-round pick and a 2031 first-round pick

The Lakers will have to use some basic salary players to supplement their 2025-26 season rotation, but the deal can immediately leap to the championship ranks, and also give them a duo they can rely on after LeBron James retires.

Markkanen is undoubtedly the best player in this deal. In two healthy seasons with the Jazz (2022-23 and 2023-24), Markanen averaged 24.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and scored 3.1 three-pointers with a 39.5% shooting percentage.

In his three seasons with the Jazz, only Jason Tatum has surpassed him in the league in terms of three-pointers and dunks (Tatum has played 52 more games in the same period).

And in each season, Markanen's dribbling and holding time (relative to other high-yield scorers) are always close to the bottom of the league.

In other words, he is almost the perfect partner for Luca (and LeBron) with the ball.

Relying on Luka's ability to disintegrate the opponent's defensive system, Markkanen will easily score as a space point that pulls space on the flank when Luka plays pick-and-roll with other insiders, a screener in pick-and-roll tactics, a cutter or a transition offensive end point.

Although he may not be a contender for the best defensive lineup in the short term, he works hard on the defensive end, has a much larger defense area than Reeves, and will improve the Lakers' rebounding ability.

After such a deal, the Lakers may still be less powerful than the Thunder, but they can be reasonably classified as the second tier along with the Nuggets and the Rockets.

Heat get more offensive firepower

Heat get: Austin Reeves and Sviatoslav Mikhailiuk

Heat lose: Terry Rozier and a 2031 first-round pick

Heat have taken advantage of the Clippers' unwillingness to give Norman Powell the next contract, and got him earlier this summer.

But when you look at their roster depth, it's still hard to avoid putting Taylor Herro (a shooting guard) in the position of the point guard.

And after ranking 21st in every 100 rounds last season, it may not be a bad idea to make another reinforcement on the offensive end.

Reeves is a more suitable organizer than Heelow, Powell, and maybe David Mitchell. He is also probably the best player of the group to break into the defensive hinterland and force it to shrink. This will provide Herro and Powell with more efficient catch-and-shooting opportunities.

, coupled with his efficient and data analysis model scoring (Reeves averaged 14.5 points per game in his career), it is not difficult to imagine that he can push the team's offense to the top ten in the league.

In addition to giving up a first-round pick, this deal has some risks. Reeves will almost certainly turn down his $14.9 million player option for the 2026-27 season. But letting him run-in for a year in the team system may give the Heat a chance to renew his contract.

Author: Andy Bailey

Translator: GWayNe