Utah forward Lauri Markkanen posted 30 points against Detroit last night
For the lion’s share of the past year, Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen has landed in a slew of trade tumors that would potentially send the Finnish stretch four to the Detroit Pistons.
On paper, it’s a deal that makes sense for both clubs– the Pistons would acquire a reliable secondary scorer to pair with Cade Cunningham, and the Jazz could pick up some long-term assets to build around when they’ll be more competitive. While this trade rumor is relegated to speculation for the moment, Markkanen had a textbook opportunity to showcase his skill set for the Pistons’ brass on Friday night with Detroit in town.
Facing the top seed in the Eastern Conference, Markkanen acquitted himself well with a strong shooting performance en route to 30 points on the night. Markkanen went 4-for-7 from behind the arc and knocked down all 10 of his free throw attempts in what was a narrow two-point victory for the Jazz.
From the start, Markkanen was both clever and effective as he drove directly at Jalen Duren multiple times in the first three minutes. Duren picked up two fouls (both on Markkanen) and was forced to sit on the bench until midway through the second quarter with foul trouble. So, the trusty Jazz shooter was able to handcuff the Pistons’ rotation before he began knocking down shots from around the court.
From an offensive perspective, Markkanen offers the exact player profile that would help complete the Pistons’ squad with his offensive gravity, movement and of course his ability to hit jumpers. Last night, Cunningham led Detroit with 29 points on the night, but the next-highest scorer for the Pistons was Tobias Harris with 16. Markkanen’s production would have slotted into the Detroit lineup quite smoothly last night, giving Cade an outlet to kick the ball to in the corner after the lane congests on dribble-drives.
Now, Markkanen has received some criticism for his defensive effort, and several analysts have questioned his potential fit in Detroit for that very reason. But last night against the Pistons, Markkanen picked up a pair of steals, one that kickstarted the Jazz transition offense and resulted in an easy bucket. According to ESPN’s box score, Markkanen finished with just one official steal, but Pistons Roundtable visually took note of each steal in the moment last night.
It is difficult to gauge what the Jazz would ask for in exchange for Markkanen, but the prevailing notion is multiple first round draft picks, an expiring contract and one or two young players who can develop into valuable pieces on a contending team. And with performances like last night in Markkanen’s recent game log, the Finnish forward is looking like he is worth that price tag.
Pistons President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon has expressed patience and pragmatism as the key approach for Detroit, so a move for Markkanen or a player of his caliber would be a bit surprising, but there would be logic behind such a transaction. Markkanen has the ability to stretch the floor and take some of the scoring responsibility off of Cade, which the Pistons could sorely use in games like last night.
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