Trade Bait: Lauri Markkanen Scores Huge to $238 Million Extension To Say With Jazz For Now

Lauri Markkanen scored exactly what he was looking for — a huge $238 Million 5-year contract extension to stay with the Utah Jazz, but the real question is how long will he be a member of the Jazz before he gets traded?

The Jazz had been actively looking at potential landing spots for Markkanen this off-season, but when those deals did not materialize it was clear the best option for the Jazz was to give him a new deal and kick his trade talks down the road.

The reality is this new deal now puts a price tag on what it will cost to acquire his services from the Jazz.

Markkanen, now 27-years-old has played for the Jazz for the past two seasons and became an All-Star for the first time. Last season he averaged 23.2 points and 8.2 rebounds.

The terms of the contract extension are five years, $238 million total, which includes $220 million in new money, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Markkanen was set to make $18 million next season, the Jazz will use their available cap space to give him a $24.2 million raise next season — bringing his total to $42.2 million — and then have four years, $196 million after that.

THE UNDERRATED OPINION
Clearly, this was a deal that was going to get done at some point as the Jazz had a ton of cap space that needed to fill up. The real question is Markkanen end next season with the Jazz or will he be traded before the trading deadline? My guess is he will start the season with the Jazz and end the season with another team.