There isn’t a single player around the league who’s experienced more “unexpected” success with their new team than Utah’s Lauri Markkanen. The centerpiece of the trade that sent All-Star Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland, no one really anticipated much from Markkanen or the Jazz in 2022-23.
The consensus was that both of UTA’s major off-season trades (Mitchell to CLE, Rudy G. to MIN) signaled a shift in thinking for the always competitive Jazz: stack young assets and go into full rebuild mode.
Fast forward to the beginning of November & the veteran-laden, “castoff” Jazz have rallied around each other for one of the league’s top records (6-2). Each new acquisition has meshed well but the play of Lauri Markkanen has Jazz fans buzzing.
LAURI MARKKANEN
Avg. career-high 22.6! ppg
Markkanen’s emergence as a go-to threat is a welcome sight: he’s playing a confident, high-level brand of basketball without sacrificing efficiency & leaning into poor shot selection/choices despite moonlighting as a #1 option. In fact, he’s opened up a bit of his own game as a multi-level scorer (career-high 22.6 ppg on 51!% shooting), defender (solid anchor at the 4) and playmaker (avg. a career-high 2.9 dimes/night) through 8 games.
There’s no telling how far Utah can/will go in 2023 or if their level of production is even sustainable. That said, this team (as currently constructed) is way too talented to “tank.” The emergence of Markkanen, however, gives hope that any new addition, from this point on, would step into a situation that promotes player development and won’t willingly concede victories for better odds in the draft lottery.
Coach Will Hardy already has an up & coming star to push, along w/ a great collection of vets hungry to win. It’s worth riding the wave to see where things go - Markkanen reaching Top DOG status & a playoff berth are both realistic goals for the Jazz in 2023.