The Miami Heat are in such an interesting spot right now with their roster construction. It’s hard to say this team is a piece away, but they’re certainly not in a spot to go into a rebuild.
Especially because they don’t have a ton of older players as their core players. With that in mind, it would make sense for them to go after a player who would be an upgrade for this season but also has value beyond just this year.
On the flip side, the Utah Jazz have started the year 3-6, which isn’t much of a surprise to anyone. Considering the Jazz won just 17 games last year, this shouldn’t really shock anyone.
Unlike the Heat, the Jazz are in a hard rebuild. For that reason, it would make sense for these two to make a trade that sends Lauri Markkanen from Utah to Miami.
This is a PREDICTION, not a REPORT.
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Lauri Markkanen Trade Proposal to the Miami Heat
Now, in order to make this deal work in terms of money, the Heat would need to give up a number of players. At the same time, the Heat are going to want to keep Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, and Kel’el Ware.
With all of that in mind, here’s the deal that would make the most sense for both sides.
The Heat would give up Andrew Wiggins, Nikola Jović, Simone Fontecchio, Pelle Larsson, and their 2032 1st round pick. In return, the Jazz would trade away Markkanen.
For the Jazz, they need more than just one player right now, so getting a collection of players they can either develop or move at the deadline for picks helps them out a ton. For the Heat, they get better this year without giving too much of their future assets.
If the Heat made this move, they would have a really strong starting lineup when healthy. A combination of Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr, Markkanen, and Adebayo with Ware off the bench is a good roster.
At 28 years old, it makes sense for the Jazz to trade Markkanen while his value is likely at his peak. For the Heat, though, this gives them enough time to go out and make a splash this upcoming summer if the current roster doesn’t work out.
Other Lauri Markkanen Landing Spots
One idea recently brought up by Marissa Myers of TWSN was the Chicago Bulls. With how good the Bulls have looked this year, it wouldn’t be shocking if they went out and made a big move.
In fact, Markkanen would be reuniting with his former team. While it’s a solid trade idea and it seems very possible, given the Heat’s current roster and situation, they make just a bit more sense.
Lauri Markkanen Stats
So far in 2025, Markkanen has been having a really strong start to the year. In nine games, Markkanen has 28.3 PPG and 6.1 REB in 35.3 MPG. To get a better understanding of the stats that Markkanen has put up, let’s go back to 2024.
Through 47 games, Markkanen had 19 PPG and 5.9 REB in 31.4 MPG.
Lauri Markkanen Contract
Right now, Markkanen is on a massive four year deal per Spotrac. According to their website, Markkanen that four year contract is worth 195,868,144 dollars.
That contract is one of the reasons it’s not as easy to trade Markkanen since he’s not necessarily an elite player but rather a very good one. It just makes too much sense for the Utah Jazz to trade Markkanen, and the Miami Heat are a great landing spot.
