Keegan Murray

Pacific Notes: Bogdanovic, Murray, Kuminga, Crowder, Suns

February 27th, 2025 at 12:19pm CST by Rory Maher

As the February 6 deadline neared, Bogdan Bogdanovic was prepared for the fact that Atlanta would likely be trading him to a new team. However, he didn’t know that team would be the Clippers, as Nikola Miloradovic of Eurohoops relays.

“Seven days before the trade, I knew I was going to change teams,” Bogdanovic told RTS. “I didn’t know where I was going to end up, I even thought I might be in Toronto or New Orleans. … There were about ten teams in the mix, it’s a tricky period when you don’t know where you’ll be.

“But I’m glad I ended up with the Clippers, I’m happy.”

The veteran swingman has his best outing as a Clipper on Wednesday in Chicago, recording 14 points (on 5-of-7 shooting), six assists and a block. Los Angeles outscored Chicago by 13 points in his 25 minutes during the five-point victory, which snapped a three-game losing streak.

Here’s more from the Pacific:

As Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes (subscriber link), Kings forward Keegan Murray was battling a nagging foot injury for the first few months of 2024/25. The injury limited his effectiveness, particularly his outside jump shot. However, he rested a couple of games in early January to let his foot heal and has been far more efficient ever since. Murray, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason, recorded a season-high 26 points (on 9-of-16 shooting) in Wednesday’s victory at Utah. He also chipped in six rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots in 33 minutes.
The Warriors have been on a roll since they traded for Jimmy Butler, going 6-1 over that span. According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, their next challenge will be reintegrating Jonathan Kuminga back in the lineup — the impending restricted free agent has been out since Jan. 4 due to a significant ankle sprain, but he’s inching closer to a return. “The main thing I want for JK is to not press when he comes back,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s not an easy spot to come back into where team’s rolling, contract stuff this summer. He’s going to have a lot on his mind. I want to make things as smooth and easy as possible. I want him to understand that it’s not going to happen right away. He was playing the best basketball of his career before the injury, and it’s not going to happen the first night where he’s going to get back to that level. It will take a little time.”
Kerr added that he wants Kuminga to study Butler on the offensive end. “He’s the perfect guy for JK to emulate,” the Warriors‘ head coach said. “What makes Jimmy special is that he doesn’t try to be special. He plays fundamental basketball. He never turns it over. He just makes the simple play over and over. I want JK to learn some of that … attacking the rim, nothing there, jump stop, pass the ball. That’s a great basketball play.”
Veteran forward Jae Crowder says a rift with former head coach Monty Williams was the reason he was away from the Suns during 2022/23 campaign and eventually led to him being traded at the 2023 deadline, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Crowder finished that season in Milwaukee, but only played 18 games.

Kings’ Christie Meets With Starters After ‘Unacceptable’ Loss

February 22nd, 2025 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings‘ post-All-Star push for a playoff spot got off to a rocky start on Friday, as they lost at home by 24 points to a Golden State team that entered the day tied with Sacramento in the Western Conference standings.

Within his recap of the game, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee noted that Doug Christie took over an hour to come out for his post-game media session, writing that the Kings’ interim head coach had “delivered an impassioned message to his team” during that time. According to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter video link), Christie met with Sacramento’s starters – Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Malik Monk, and Keegan Murray – during that time.

“First and foremost, in that meeting, I was told that Christie reiterated how he’s in the fight with them,” Haynes said. “But there were some issues he wanted to address, such as making sure that everyone understood the gravity of the situation right now. He addressed ball security. He talked about how they’ve been compromising on defense. He wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page. He spoke on learning how to communicate with each other, and he challenged his players to challenge each other in a positive way to yield some positive results.”

Speaking to reporters after Friday’s loss, Christie didn’t specifically mention meeting with the starters, but he referred to his team’s effort vs. Golden State as “totally unacceptable.” According to Monk, the Kings’ coach made it clear that “we can’t get punked like that at home” again.

“I get down in a certain way and I expect you guys to represent that,” Christie said of his message to the team, per Anderson. “I know what these fans appreciate and what they want, and I know what our organization wants, and that ain’t it. That ain’t ever going to be it.”

The Kings are still adjusting after making some major roster changes at the trade deadline. De’Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter, Colby Jones, Alex Len, and Jordan McLaughlin were all dealt during the first week of February, with LaVine, Jonas Valanciunas, and Jake LaRavia added via trade, while Markelle Fultz later signed as a free agent. As Anderson writes, the new-look roster showed some growing pains on Friday by turning the ball over a season-high 24 times and being outscored 38-5 in points off turnovers.

“Twenty-four (turnovers) for 38 points won’t win you a game, I don’t think, anywhere in the world,” Christie said. “… We can keep saying we have a lot of new guys and we’re trying to find our way, but that excuse, no one checks for you in this league like that. People will just run through you and beat the hell out of you, so it doesn’t matter what the excuse is.

“Take care of the basketball, play together, move the rock, and if we do that at a high level, we give ourselves the opportunity to win. We’re not even giving ourselves the opportunity with 24 turnovers for 38 points. It’s just not acceptable. It will never be acceptable. I said that to them man for man.”

The Kings are still in a play-in position in the West — at 28-28, they hold the No. 10 seed in the conference, with a 1.5-game lead over the No. 11 Suns. But after winning one play-in game last season and losing the second, they know how challenging it is to earn a playoff berth from that position and would like to move up in the standings before the end of the season. They have the fifth-hardest remaining schedule, per Tankathon.

“The bottom line is we have to come out and play with a sense of urgency, aggressiveness and physicality,” Christie said. “We have to want to win more than we want to breathe.”

Kings’ McNair Talks Christie, Goals, Trade Deadline, More

January 10th, 2025 at 11:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking on Friday to NBC Sports California’s Mark Jones, Kings general manager Monte McNair briefly addressed the team’s decision to fire Mike Brown, stressing that he appreciates the veteran coach and has the “utmost respect” for him.

However, as Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports California writes, McNair was more focused on discussing the job that Doug Christie has done since taking the reins from Brown, praising the interim head coach for the love he has for the organization and the “passion” he has brought to the role.

“What I think he brings to the table is his optimism, his playing experience and what he feels he needs to give to those players because that’s what he needed when he played,” McNair said. “And right now, I think the guys have really responded to that.”

The Kings won their sixth straight game on Friday and are now back to .500 at 19-19, putting them firmly in the thick of the postseason race in the Western Conference. In his conversation with Jones, McNair made it clear that getting back to the playoffs after missing out last season is a priority for the team.

“I would say our goals haven’t changed,” McNair said, per Rodriguez. “We want to get to the playoffs. We want to continue to make noise there. I think what we’ve done is we’ve put ourselves in a bit of a hole. We’ve started to climb out of it but there’s more work to be done. We’re really right now on the fringes of the play-in, that’s certainly one way into the playoffs, we’ve seen teams take that path away and make some noise in the playoffs, so if that’s the pathway we have to go through, we’ll do that.

“But ideally, we’ll find a way to get into the top six and get a little rest going into the playoffs. But that’s what our goal continues to be, both this year and going forward.”

Here are a few more highlights from the Kings’ GM:

On the front office’s thought process with the February 6 trade deadline nearing:

“I think the first thing we’re looking at is we made a big change, so what does the team look like? We’ve seen a little bit of that, but we want to see a little bit more about how this team responds and exactly what we have. We’re always looking, that’s our job in the front office, we always got to find ways to improve this team especially in the Western Conference where it feels like every year there’s 10, 11, 12 teams that you got to compete with.

“Early returns have been good, we want to continue to see that. And then we’re about three or four weeks out from that decision point, and we’ll see if there’s a way to improve the team and keep climbing the standings.”

On whether the new CBA will make it difficult for the Kings to find a deal they like:

“I think teams are looking to improve, and there’s a lot of creative folks out there. We have quite a few in our front office. So it certainly puts some constraints on how you can maneuver, but I think we are well positioned with our current position and I think other teams continue to be creative to find ways that they can do it. You can’t stand still in this league for too long and you got to continue to find ways to make your team better.”

On the desire to add more talented defenders without sacrificing offense:

“I think we’ve seen Keon (Ellis) take some tougher assignments, so when he’s out there he can do it. At the same time, we’re continuing to look for two-way guys because what we don’t want to do is just solve one issue and open up another. So we want guys like Keegan (Murray), like Keon, like a lot of the other guys on our roster that can produce on the offensive end and then go and guard these tough guys on the defensive end. So we’ll continue to look for those guys. We’ll continue to challenge the guys that we have here to take on those responsibilities.

“And I think, certainly of late, we’re top five in defense over the last 10 days or so, and 15th or 16th on the season. Our goal is to be top half of the league and we’re right there.”

Kings Notes: Christie, Expectations, Ellis, Fox

December 29th, 2024 at 9:03am CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings changed coaches on Friday in response to a five-game losing streak, but they didn’t look much different Saturday night in Doug Christie’s debut, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Defense continued to be a glaring issue as the team sank further in the West with a 132-122 road loss against the Lakers. Sacramento gave up 40 points in the first quarter and 42 points in the third quarter before a late rally fell short.

After the loss, Christie told reporters that the key to turning the season around is getting a commitment from his players on both ends of the court.

“We have enough,” he said. “This is a message that I said to them. There is enough in this locker room, but how we get over that is the types of things I’ve talked about. The consistency, the focus, the willingness to play for my team at such a high level that it hurts and I have to come out of the game. It’s up to me to be able to find that.”

Christie had a 15-year NBA career as an intense competitor who specialized in defense, and he wants to bring that same attitude to the team. While they were caught off guard by the sudden loss of Mike Brown, several players pledged their dedication to Christie as he tries to salvage the season after a 13-19 start.

“Everyone likes Doug, so for him to be our interim head coach for the rest of the year, I think everyone is going to try to rally around him and give him the best situation possible, try to not give him as much stress,” Keegan Murray said. “He’s definitely been to each and every one of us in some way or another just to try to motivate us. He’s been great these last 24 hours, just trying to motivate our team to turn the season around.”

There’s more on the Kings:

The team’s ownership and front office have made it clear that there’s no “grace period” and that results are expected immediately, Kevin Huerter told Anderson in the same story. With the trade deadline less than six weeks away, it’s possible that major changes could be coming if the Kings don’t start winning. “For us, that was a message that was very clear yesterday,” Huerter said. “We don’t see this as a lost season. We’ve got to right the ship. We’ve got to turn this around, so there’s definitely no grace period … We’ve had a lot of different meetings over the last 24 hours. Generally, there’s still a lot of belief in this organization and this room, and we think we’ve got to create some urgency to try to turn it around.”
Third-year guard Keon Ellis may see a larger role as the Kings try to upgrade their perimeter defense, Christie added (Twitter video link from Law Murray of The Athletic). “Keon is a perfect example of a lot of things that I want,” Christie said. “When he got into the game tonight, he didn’t shoot the shot. He put it on the deck and he got in the lane. I looked at him and I said, ‘Listen, man, you gotta shoot that. I need you to shoot the basketball; you shoot it well. Defensively, you pick up. You’re an irritant. You need to get after people. So a lot of the things that he does, we need, but we need him to shoot that basketball.
If De’Aaron Fox decides to ask for a trade before the deadline, the Spurs and Rockets are teams to watch, along with possibly the Lakers and Heat, Tim MacMahon of ESPN said on the latest edition of The Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to HoopsHype).

Western Rumors: Kings, Grant, Kessler, Moody, Looney, Rockets, A. Mitchell

December 2nd, 2024 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings are off to a disappointing 9-12 start this season, already 2.5 games back of a play-in spot in the Western Conference, prompting executives around the NBA to keep an eye on the situation in Sacramento to see if the front office will make another move to try to upgrade its roster, writes Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Citing a “heightened sense of urgency” in Sacramento, Scotto suggests that teams talking to the Kings will be eager to see if the club is willing to part with first-round picks, rookie Devin Carter, or perhaps former No. 4 overall pick Keegan Murray, who has essentially been off the table in trade discussions in recent years.

For now, it seems safe to assume that the Kings will dangle Kevin Huerter and Trey Lyles in trade talks, according to Scotto, who points out that both players were also available last season. Between Huerter’s $16.8MM cap hit and Lyles’ $8MM expiring deal, Sacramento could get to about $25MM in matching salary and then sweeten an offer from there by adding draft capital and/or a young player.

Here are a few more Western Conference rumors from Scotto:

Although Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant and Jazz center Walker Kessler are both considered potential trade candidates, Portland has been unwilling to move Grant without getting two first-round picks back and Utah has sought at least two first-rounders for Kessler, Scotto writes. Teams with interest in Grant and Kessler have viewed the Blazers’ and Jazz’s asking prices as too high, Scotto notes.
Moses Moody signed a three-year contract extension with the Warriors before the season, but his role hasn’t increased at all, leading to speculation that he’s a player to monitor as a possible trade chip, says Scotto. “Moody could be part of a package in a bigger deal, and (head coach) Steve Kerr still doesn’t play him 20 minutes a game,” one league executive told HoopsHype. Moody would be subject to the poison pill provision if he’s dealt this season, which wouldn’t preclude a trade but would make it more complicated.
The Knicks, Thunder, and Grizzlies had “exploratory” trade interest in Warriors center Kevon Looney during the offseason before they addressed frontcourt holes in other ways, Scotto reports. Looney, who is on an $8MM expiring contract, has been Golden State’s leading rebounder (7.6 RPG) despite playing just 14.9 minutes per night.
Despite reports insisting the Rockets aren’t looking to break up their young core to acquire a player like Kevin Durant or Giannis Antetokounmpo, many rival executives believe it’s just a matter of when – not if – Houston makes a big splash on the trade market, according to Scotto. Those execs believe Jalen Green won’t be off limits in future Rockets trade talks, even after signing a three-year, $105MM+ contract extension in October.
Thunder rookie Ajay Mitchell, who has impressed in a rotation role this fall, is considered a strong candidate to be promoted from his two-way contract to the standard roster later this season, per Scotto. Oklahoma City currently has a full 15-man roster, but has some flexibility with its last roster spot, which is held by Branden Carlson on a non-guaranteed deal.

Kings Notes: Ellis, Huerter, Injuries, Jones, Brown, Murray, DeRozan

October 7th, 2024 at 11:51am CST by Luke Adams

There’s no question that Domantas Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox, DeMar DeRozan, and Keegan Murray will be part of the Kings‘ starting lineup this fall, but the fifth member of that group has yet to be locked in, as James Ham of The Kings Beat and Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee write.

Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter, and Keon Ellis are all realistic candidates to start at shooting guard for Sacramento. However, it seems likely that Monk will reprise the sixth-man role he thrived in last season. Huerter, meanwhile, hasn’t yet been cleared for full-contact work after undergoing surgery in late March to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

That may make Ellis the frontrunner to start alongside Fox in Sacramento’s backcourt. As Anderson writes, Ellis’ ability to play good defense and to operate on offense without the ball in his hands also makes him a good fit in the team’s starting group, whereas Monk and Huerter could handle a larger offensive load with the second unit.

“If you think about it, Keon, out of all three of those guys, is probably the one who will command the least amount of shots and/or the time the ball is in his hands,” head coach Mike Brown said last week. “He’s shown the last two years that he’s a capable catch-and-shoot shooter, and if you leave him open, he’ll make you pay on the catch-and-shoot shot from the three-point line. He shot 40-something percent from three in both years, so for us that is a little bit of a factor, making sure we put the right combinations on the floor that fit instead of just trying to throw guys out there because we think those guys can all score the best.”

Here’s more on the Kings:

Huerter, who was cleared for on-court workouts near the end of August, said he’s feeling good about the progress he’s made and is eager to advance to the final stage of his rehab process, per Anderson. “The last step for me is really just getting 5-on-5 full contact,” Huerter said. “I haven’t gone contact against a player yet. I haven’t been cleared to do that, but everything else. I’ve been 1-on-0 for four months now. … Itching to get back and go against somebody else.”
The Kings are battling the injury bug this fall, with Huerter and Devin Carter recovering from shoulder surgeries and Trey Lyles (groin), Jordan McLaughlin (ankle), and Orlando Robinson (knee) all dealing with health issues of their own. According to Ham, McLaughlin is expected to be back within the next few days and Huerter should be cleared for contact around the middle of the month, while Lyles will probably be sidelined until the end of the preseason schedule. Robinson and Carter will remain out for the start of the season.
As Anderson details in a separate story for The Sacramento Bee, Brown delivered a profanity-laced tirade near the end of a Saturday scrimmage. As the Kings’ head coach later explained, two-way player Mason Jones capped off a “really, really good day” by turning the ball over and giving up on the last couple plays of the day. Brown responded by calling out Jones and several of his vets. “I got on Foxy and Domas and DeMar a little bit because those three guys can’t let that slide,” he said. “I shouldn’t have to be the one saying that we all have to hold each other accountable. … We all have to hold each other accountable all the time, and if our vets see something like that from a young guy in Mason, then you’ve got to let him know, ‘Hey, Mace, you had a good day, but we can’t finish like that.'”
In another story for The Sacramento Bee, Anderson explores how Murray can continue to grow as a player as the former No. 4 overall pick enters his third NBA season.
A Los Angeles native, DeRozan hasn’t played for one of his hometown teams since entering the NBA in 2009, but he’s thrilled to be living in California again as a member of the Kings, so close to his family in L.A., he recently told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “It means so much,” DeRozan said. “Even one of my daughters, she is asking every day when she can come up — even a day where she could just come up for a day, spend time with me and go back. Her knowing that gives her excitement. That makes me extremely happy.”

Kings Exercise 2025/26 Option On Keegan Murray

October 3rd, 2024 at 3:12pm CST by Rory Maher

The Kings have exercised their 2025/26 team option on Keegan Murray, tweets Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL.

The move ensures that Murray, who is slated to make $8,809,560 this season, will earn a guaranteed $11,144,093 in ’25/26, which is the fourth and final year of his rookie scale contract.

Murray, 24, was the fourth overall pick of the 2022 draft out of Iowa. It was a mere formality that Sacramento would pick up the option, since Murray emerged as a vital part of the team’s core over his first two seasons.

A 6’8″ forward, Murray made the All-Rookie First Team in ’22/23 and followed that up by appearing in 77 regular season games in ’23/24, averaging 15.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.7 APG and 1.0 SPG on .454/.358/.831 shooting in 33.6 MPG. He was also frequently tasked with defending the opposing team’s top perimeter player and has positional versatility on both ends of the court.

The deadline for teams to decide on ’25/26 rookie scale team options is Oct. 31. We’re tracking all of those decisions right here.

Pacific Notes: Sabonis, DeRozan, Monk, Kings, Mann, Lakers

September 29th, 2024 at 11:49am CST by Rory Maher

Kings center Domantas Sabonis recently spoke to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee about “Starting 5,” the Netflix series in which he stars alongside LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum and Anthony Edwards. The show’s premiere is Oct. 9.

As for Sacramento’s offseason, Sabonis said he’s he looking forward to playing with six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan, whom the Kings acquired from Chicago in a three-team sign-and-trade.

“It’s amazing,” Sabonis said. “Having a veteran like that, I’ve wanted that for a long time. He has a Hall of Fame career, and to bring that IQ — I was with him in L.A. for a couple weeks working out at USC and I learned so much personally in those couple weeks of workouts. Having him be around the team and having that rub off on everyone is going to be good. He’s here for the right reasons and he wants to win. That’s going to be good for us.”

Here’s more from the Pacific:

Sabonis also covered a number of topics in an interview with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, including his love for Sacramento, the team’s high expectations, and what to expect out of Keegan Murray entering his third season. Sabonis was ecstatic the Kings were able to re-sign Malik Monk to a four-year, $78MM deal in free agency. “Thank God that we kept him,” Sabonis said. “He’s a big piece of how we play, and his energy and vibes off the court. He’s a great locker room guy. He keeps us always locked in and happy. That’s something you can’t replace with a lot of players in the league. He brings a swagger and is always ready to go. For us off the bench last year, he had a burst coming in and helping the second unit. To maintain that with another year of experience under his belt and a new contract it usually gives you more confidence. I’m expecting big things from him.”
Terance Mann‘s new three-year, $47MM extension with the Clippers is fully guaranteed with no team or player option, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Mann will earn $15.5MM in 2025/26, when the extension begins, and he remains trade-eligible due to the terms of the agreement, Marks adds (via Twitter). Mann, a 27-year-old swingman, figures to take on an increased offensive role after the offseason departure of Paul George.
The Lakers intend to hire Vanessa Brooks to be their new head athletic trainer and senior physical therapist, sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link). Brooks had been with the Thunder since 2019.

Kings Notes: Monk, DeRozan, Triano, Markkanen

July 7th, 2024 at 5:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Malik Monk might have found a better offer on the open market but he was content to stay with the Kings on a four-year, $78MM contract. Monk choose comfort over a few more dollar signs.

“It just felt right. Everything felt right,” Monk told Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee and other media members. “I don’t go anywhere and feel uncomfortable. I go everywhere and feel comfortable, and that’s a home, I feel like, so I’m back.”

Monk might have received close to $25MM per year and a starting role with some teams. Instead, he’ll likely resume his role as sixth man on the Kings. Monk informed the team 10 days before free agency began that he was staying put.

“Being a team player,” Monk said. “I could have took my money somewhere, but it felt like home here. Letting the organization know early was the least I could do, for sure, because we need a few more pieces and they’re looking for a few more pieces, so I think they’re doing their job.”

We have more on the Kings:

The Athletic’s John Hollinger is conflicted over the Kings’ decision to pursue a sign-and-trade for DeMar DeRozan. The addition of DeRozan probably doesn’t vault them into the top five in the Western Conference, even during the regular season, Hollinger opines. However, they’re too good to tank, so there’s nothing wrong with upgrading the team methodically for a future run at the title.
The team’s recruitment of DeRozan included having Jay Triano, the Kings’ lead assistant coach and DeRozan’s first NBA head coach, at the airport, according to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. De’Aaron Fox also played a key role in DeRozan’s recruitment. DeRozan agreed to a three-year, $74MM deal with the third season partially guaranteed.
In the same story, Slater notes that the Kings made a strong pitch early last week to acquire the Jazz’sLauri Markkanen in a trade. However, they were unwilling to give up Keegan Murray in a proposed deal. Instead, they made a substantial picks-based offer. They put a deadline on pursuing a trade with Utah and the Jazz didn’t meet it. There’s growing skepticism league-wide that Jazz executive Danny Ainge will actually move Markkanen, Slater adds.

Latest On Lauri Markkanen

July 4th, 2024 at 8:16am CST by Luke Adams

A report earlier this week indicated that the Warriors and Spurs are considered the most serious trade suitors for Lauri Markkanen, but they’re not the only teams in the running for the Jazz forward, as Tony Jones of The Athletic confirmed on Wednesday during an appearance on Sactown Sports 1140 (Twitter video link).

“Sacramento is very interested. Sacramento has what the Kings think is a strong offer on the board,” Jones said (hat tip to Bleacher Report). “But at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what the Jazz think. Utah’s stance on Lauri is the same and it has been the same for a long time: We don’t want to trade Lauri, so you’re going to have to make us trade him.”

In the latest episode of the No Cap Room podcast, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (YouTube link) also mentioned the Kings as a legitimate suitor for Markkanen.

“The Sacramento Kings, to my knowledge, earlier this week were close to a deal. I do think that, based off of conversations I’ve had,” Fischer said. “I can’t say more than that, but there were calls made to people around the NBA that would have indicated that talks have been legitimate there.”

Utah pursued Mikal Bridges before Brooklyn agreed to send him to New York and envisioned adding more impact talent in free agency if they were able to land the Nets’ standout three-and-D forward and pair him with Markkanen, according to Jones. But with Bridges off the board and no obvious opportunities left to upgrade the roster in the short term, Jones wouldn’t be surprised if Utah pivots to trying to keep its top-10 protected pick in a strong 2025 draft.

Still, that wouldn’t necessarily mean trading Markkanen. As Jones points out, even with the former All-Star on the roster, the Jazz project to be among the worst teams in a competitive Western Conference, so they could extend him while continuing to add and develop young talent around him.

Rival teams, recognizing that the Jazz could benefit long-term from leaning even further into their rebuild, are pursuing Markkanen in the hopes of convincing Utah to make a deal, but the price will be high. A previous report suggested the return would probably have to be similar in value to what Brooklyn got for Bridges (four unprotected first-round picks, an unprotected pick swap, and one more lightly protected first-rounder, with only expiring salary attached).

The Warriors and Kings aren’t in position to offer that many draft picks, but they have young players who could be included to strengthen their bids (though Sacramento reportedly remains resistant to including former No. 4 overall pick Keegan Murray in any deal).

“There’s been a lot of noise the last few days and that’s because teams have ramped up,” Jones said. “They’ve actually put tangible offers on the table. Sacramento has a tangible offer on the table; the Golden State Warriors have a tangible offer on the table. The San Antonio Spurs, they’ve expressed a lot of interest.

“To my knowledge, 20 teams around the league have called one way or another about Lauri in the offseason for the Jazz. Interest obviously is there, obviously the noise is there. It’s just a matter of does it meet Utah’s threshold? And it’s going to be a very, very high threshold to have to meet to get the Jazz to trade him.”

Fischer agreed that actually prying Markkanen out of Utah will be difficult.

“I’ve still been told that Utah prefers to keep Lauri and renegotiate and extend him,” he said. “They can’t do that though until August 6, so why not spend the next month fielding offers, and telling the Kings, ‘Yeah, we’d do it if you give us Keegan Murray,’ and telling the Warriors, ‘Yeah, give us three picks and Podz (Brandin Podziemski) and whatever.’ … It doesn’t hurt to listen.

“I still don’t think he’s going to get traded. As someone told me (Jazz general manager) Justin Zanik told them, Utah is conducting their business with a 10% chance they’re going to move him.”

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