Could Lauri Markkanen be had for 1st rounder in Jazz sell-off?

The Miami Heat still have work to do as the season nears. While they will carry a top 10 starting lineup into the season, even with their deficiencies, they still have said deficiencies to address.

Heavily publicized by now and with the exodus of P.J. Tucker, they don’t know what they’ll do at the power forward spot right now. They have guys they can, will, and are worthy of a shot there, but nothing can be called anything close to a certainty.

That’s where opportunities out there on the market might still come in handy for the Miami Heat, even after missing out on Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell. The latter of the aforementioned two though has caused ripples that may still be able to benefit the Miami Heat.

Here’s what we mean. Check out this quote from a Bleacher Report piece by Paul Kasabian.

The Utah Jazz reportedly believe guards Jordan Clarkson and Malik Beasley and wing Bojan Bogdanovic are worth first-round draft picks in trades.

That’s per ESPN’s Zach Lowe on his latest Lowe Post podcast (h/t Brad Sullivan of Ahn Fire Digital).

The Miami Heat still need forward depth and the Utah Jazz seem to be having a sell-off. With Lauri Markkanen freshly landed, could he be had for a 1st?

“The second package is Clarkson, Bogdanovic, Beasley,” Lowe said. “From what I’ve been told around the league, the Jazz feel all three of those guys are worth a first-round pick. If that’s the case, then there’s no deal, that’s out.”

The Jazz are in rebuilding mode after trading All-Stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. All told, the Jazz have amassed 13 unprotected or lightly protected draft picks through 2029, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

While neither of the guys mentioned above should be a target for the Miami Heat, not a main target, at least, as their real needs are elsewhere, there is a guy that just got traded to the Jazz from Cleveland that is exactly what the Miami Heat need right now.

Lauri Markkanen is a seven-footer capable of lining up anywhere from the 3-5 spot on the floor, to be quite honest. For the Miami Heat, he would make the perfect stretch 4 and compliment to a guy like Bam Adebayo.

While this piece doesn’t mention it and you could very easily see Utah wanting to hang on to him to see what they still have there, it would be worth a shot to call them up and see if they could pry him away with a package mainly centered around a first-round pick.

If it took that, a swap or two, and a second or two, that wouldn’t be so bad either. In any event though, the call should be made as Utah proceeds with what looks like a Post-Mitchell/Gobert sell-off prior to a rebuild.