Blockbuster new trade proposal sends Lauri Markkanen to Atlanta, Utah gets assets to begin rebuild

The NBA offseason has slowed down and there aren’t many big trades left to make. The three players who could still be traded are Lauri Markkanen, Brandon Ingram, and Zach LaVine, but it seems like the rumors have died down. After making one of the biggest trades of the offseason by trading Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance, EJ Liddell, Cody Zeller, and two first-round picks, Atlanta has been quiet. They still have roster moves to make and players like Clint Capela and De’Andre Hunter are still the subject of trade rumors.

The Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs have been the most talked about teams for Markkanen, but what if the Hawks got involved? Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report put together a trade proposal for the Hawks to land Markkanen:

The Atlanta Hawks receive: F Lauri Markkanen

Utah Jazz receives: A/C Onyeka Okongwu, G/F Dyson Daniels, SG Kobe Bufkin, 2025 first-round pick (unprotected by Los Angeles Lakers), 2025 first-round pick (protected in top 12 by Sacramento Kings)

“The Atlanta Hawks were wise to give up on Dejounte Murray’s experience. As a result, they now have additional draft picks and young talent to play with.

Unfortunately, this team hasn’t seemed to win since Murray left and their next three first-round picks are owed either directly or via pick swaps to the San Antonio Spurs. The Hawks should try to improve around Trae Young and Jalen Johnson, but they’ll likely be worse than the team that won the first overall pick last year. If they get him again, the Spurs will reap the benefits.

The goal should be to build a big, physical team around Young. Markkanen is a 7-foot-10 wing who now becomes the Hawks’ secondary scorer (23.2 points, 41.4 percent from three) and is part of a potentially huge starting five alongside Young, 6-foot-10 Zaccharie Risacher, 6-foot-10 Johnson and 6-foot-10 Clint Capela. Atlanta would still have Bogdan Bogdanović, De’Andre Hunter, Larry Nance Jr., Garrison Mathews, Cody Zeller and others on the bench.

With the 2025 draft class shaping up to be one of the best in years, this trade would potentially give the Jazz five first-round picks to revive the franchise.

They already own unprotected picks from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves and now add additional picks from the Lakers and Kings (top-12 protected in 2025, top-10 in 2026, which become second-round picks in 2026 and 2027 if not traded). Trading Markkanen also helps Utah’s chances of retaining its own pick (top-10 protected, due to the Oklahoma City Thunder).

The Jazz also got some good young former first-round picks to add to their talent base. Daniels can’t be packaged in a trade until Sept. 4, though making two separate deals (with Daniels subject to a $6.4 million trade exception held by Utah) would allow both sides to get the deal done immediately.

While I like Markkanen and think he would help the Hawks, this isn’t a deal I would make. Daniels will be considered one of the Hawks’ best defensemen at center and is a perfect fit alongside Young. While Bufkin has struggled with injuries so far in his young career, he has shown potential as a two-way player and I wouldn’t give up on him just yet. If the Hawks trade Onyeka Okongwu, they would end up with Capela, Larry Nance, Bruno Fernando and Cody Zeller at center. Capela and Nance are also on expiring contracts, which leaves the future of the position in doubt. If the Hawks trade those two picks, they would be left with just one pick in the next three drafts. Atlanta would be left without a pick and without three of its best young players.

One could argue that the Hawks should make a move to try to improve because they don’t have a draft pick of their own, but I don’t think adding Markkanen suddenly makes the Hawks better than Boston, New York or Philadelphia, the projected top three teams in the Eastern Conference. If Atlanta made that move, they wouldn’t have the assets to make another one for a long time.

The Hawks shouldn’t rush out and try to make another big trade. That’s what they did when they traded for Dejounte Murray in the summer of 2022 and they can’t risk doing it again. Atlanta made two crucial mistakes that summer: 1) They rushed out and thought they were closer to contending than they actually were and 2) They traded for the wrong player in Murray. Murray is a good player in his own right, but he doesn’t mesh well with Young and the Hawks overpaid for him. Markkanen is a better pick than Murray, but that doesn’t put the Hawks over the top.

There have been no reports this summer that the Hawks are moving Markkanen, but he has been mentioned as a potential trade target. Back in December, Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer had this to say about a potential Markkanen trade and mentioned Atlanta:

“Lauri Markkanen did indeed emerge as an intriguing, if unlikely, trade candidate before the February buzzer. The Jazz were considering competing more in the Western Conference after Markkanen became an All-Star in his first season in Salt Lake City, league sources told Yahoo Sports, while Utah reached out to Portland to acquire Damian Lillard and then Jrue Holiday before this season was announced. Moving on from Markkanen would mark a dramatic change in direction from trying to add an All-NBA caliber point guard to lead Utah’s offense alongside Markkanen’s versatile skill set.

But Markkanen’s status has already generated and will continue to generate significant buzz around the league if Utah continues to meet the demands of its rivals. It would be malpractice for management not to at least understand what it would take to get Markkanen. League personnel believe three teams in particular value the Finnish forward at this early stage of trade talks. Two of those apparent suitors, Sacramento and Atlanta, make sense given the Kings’ and Hawks’ respective approaches for Siakam. The third team league personnel continue to mention to watch for a potential Markkanen approach is Oklahoma City, suddenly second in the West with a treasure trove of first-round picks.

The consensus is that Utah couldn’t move Markkanen unless they got a massive offer, and that’s usually the kind of deal Danny Ainge makes. Markkanen is entering the final year of his contract and is expected to get a massive extension. He might be the best player on the trade market, and this has been a remarkable career turnaround for Markkanen. After being a solid but not great player with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers, Markkanen has been an All-Star with the Jazz. This season, the 2.13-m wing averaged 23.2 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting 48 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range. He’s one of the best offensive players in the game, and it would be easy to see why teams would want him.

The bottom of the Eastern Conference allows Atlanta to be a play-in team with their current roster and could even be a top-six seed if things go right. This is a better roster around Young and all the pieces are coming together better, much like the 2021 Conference Finals team. I’m not saying this team will do that, but the structure of the team makes more sense than it did the last two seasons. There are still moves to make for the Hawks this offseason, including potential deals for Clint Capela, Larry Nance, and possibly De’Andre Hunter. The Hawks should continue to add the right pieces to their roster, but making a blockbuster deal for Lauri Markkanen shouldn’t be one of those moves. Atlanta should remain patient and continue to build their roster, which they did this offseason. It appears Atlanta finally has a plan to build a roster around Young and they shouldn’t step on the gas too soon again.