Phoenix Suns: 3 trade options for Jae Crowder post trade request

Phoenix Suns trade Jae Crowder, Torrey Craig, 2025 second-round pick to Utah Jazz for Lauri Markkanen

While the Utah Jazz have made big moves this offseason by parting ways with All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, they certainly haven’t finished dealing even new members of their roster.

Markkanen was traded by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Mitchell deal, and while he’s still young at 25 years of age, he doesn’t fit the timeline of what the Jazz are trying to build.

Standing at 6’11”, Markkanen played much of his time at small-forward for the Cavaliers last season, but would most certainly end up as a backup four or even a stretch five at the Suns. The shooting touch is a staple of his game, having shot 36.4% from deep on over six attempts per game throughout his five-year career.

While his offensive efficiency is questionable at times, he does have a vast skill set that extends to more than just his shooting. However, in a Suns system blessed with a plethora of offensive options, the idea of Markkanen would be to simply have another slightly taller Cam Johnson.

His defensive capacity is a clear weakness, though in promising signs, he did significantly raise his defensive win shares to 2.3 last season in Cleveland. This provided optimism that in the right environment, next to quality individual defenders, Markkanen can cope defensively within a team construct.

Markkanen has three years left at just over $50 million (third year partially guaranteed), giving the Suns team control over a player who still contains serious upside. He most recently had an incredible Eurobasket for Finland, averaging 27.9 points and 8.1 rebounds on 54.2% from the field and 40.5% from three-point range.