New three-team blockbuster trade proposal sends Lauri Markkanen to Minnesota, Karl-Anthony Towns to Atlanta

The 2024 NBA offseason is officially underway. Free agency began on Sunday night and there has been a flurry of moves since then. The Atlanta Hawks made one of those moves by sending Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance, EJ Liddell and two first-round picks. Since then, the Hawks have been quiet and that is mainly due to limited cap space. Two other teams that have not made any moves are the Utah Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Utah was reportedly discussing trades with Atlanta for Trae Young or Murray before Murray was traded as they were looking to add players and then try to pursue Paul George in free agency. That of course did not happen and now the talk around Utah has shifted to whether or not they would trade All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen.

Markkanen is the top player on the trade market and is likely to fetch a lot of money, even though he is in the final year of his contract. One team that had not been mentioned for Markkanen was Minnesota, but Yahoo Sports Jake Fischer mentioned Minnesota as a team that would be interested in Markkanen:

“In addition to Golden State, Sacramento and San Antonio are the two other teams considered by league insiders to be serious contenders for Markkanen at this point. For the Kings to get Markkanen, NBA personnel believe the Jazz would need Sacramento to part ways with Keegan Murray, which could leave other trade options like Brandon Ingram as a more palatable outcome for the Kings. Minnesota has also shown interest in Markkanen, sources said. Philadelphia never seemed to give Markkanen much consideration throughout the Sixers’ long search for a third star to slot between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.”

If Minnesota wanted Markkanen, I think they would need a third team. The Timberwolves would likely trade Karl-Anthony Towns in that scenario and I don’t think Utah would want him in return. If Utah decides to trade Markkanen, they are likely heading towards a complete rebuild of their pick pool for the future. I could see Utah going the Mikal Bridges route and getting some salary back, but mostly doing it for draft picks. Utah’s 2025 pick will go to OKC if it doesn’t fall in the top 10 and I think they want to make sure they get that pick.

Would Atlanta be interested in a third team in a deal between the two teams? The Hawks have quietly built an interesting roster around Trae Young, but should they go for a second star to ensure they don’t get left behind in the Eastern Conference? While I like the changes Atlanta made, you could argue they’re still in the 8-10 range in the East if they kept this team. Could they make a big move?

It should be noted that this is just speculation and a fun exercise to see what kind of moves can be made between teams, not what I think a team should absolutely do. That’s all.

Here is the trade:

Atlanta receives: Karl-Anthony Towns and Walker Kessler

Minnesota receives: Lauri Markkanen and De’Andre Hunter

Utah receives: Clint Capela, Garrison Matthews, a 2025 1st round pick from Atlanta (unprotected by the Lakers), a 2027 1st round pick from Atlanta (the least favorable of Milwaukee Bucks or New Orleans), a 2030 1st round pick (via Atlanta), a 2028 1st round trade from Minnesota, and a 2025 2nd round pick from Minnesota (via Utah)

I know this seems like a lot and is unlikely to happen, but let’s look at it in detail.

The Hawks would do this to get a second star next to Trae Young, Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu and Zaccharie Risacher. They would also get Capela and Hunter off their rosters. A starting lineup of Young, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, Towns and Okongwu would put them closer to the top of the Eastern Conference. They could bring in Kobe Bufkin, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Risacher and Kessler off the bench. The Jazz appear ready to part ways with Kessler and it might be wise for the Hawks to buy him cheap and see what they can do with him. He is a very good blocker and defender, which would be attractive to Atlanta. The downside would be getting rid of more picks. The Hawks would not have control of their draft in 2025, 2026 or 2027. Would they give that up for a chance with this roster? It might be tempting, but I doubt they’ll give up that many picks that early again. The Hawks could always trade Larry Nance to free up cap space.

If I were Minnesota, it would be a yes. Markkanen could be an upgrade over Towns and they are bringing Hunter in off the bench. If Minnesota is truly interested in Markkanen, that should signal that they think he is an upgrade over Towns. I have my doubts about their seriousness in acquiring Markkanen, but they have been mentioned as an interested team so we can’t completely rule it out.

Would that be enough for Utah? They already own most of Minnesota’s future picks thanks to the Rudy Gobert trade and now they’d add to their treasure trove of picks with Atlanta pieces. They’d get the Lakers’ unprotected pick for next year, potentially giving them four first-round picks in what’s expected to be a loaded 2025 draft class. Utah could try to load up on Cooper Flagg or another top prospect in next year’s class while still having enough picks to trade down the road. With Markkanen in the final year of his contract, that might be the best return they’d get in a trade. Capela and Matthews are on expiring contracts right now, so they’re not taking on more money for the future. They can continue to look for trades for John Collins, Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton to acquire more picks.

Is this deal likely to happen? No, but it makes sense for all teams. Atlanta is upgrading its roster to try to compete with the best in the Eastern Conference, Minnesota is trying to upgrade its roster for a spot in the Western Conference, and Utah is getting more picks for a rebuild. There would be more trades for those teams if that happened too. This is just a hypothetical idea though and I think Atlanta and Minnesota are likely to stay away from those kinds of trades this offseason.