New three-team blockbuster trade proposal sends Markkanen to OKC, Hawks build defense

Welcome to the start of NBA free agency.

At 6pm ET today, the open market negotiation period will open and teams will begin negotiating with players on the open market. This is also when trade talks start to ramp up and deals are made. Rumors have been swirling for a few weeks about who is going where and many of those questions will be answered in the coming days.

One of the biggest questions in the NBA is the future of Lauri Markkanen. The seven-foot forward averaged just 23.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists on 48 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range in 55 games for the Utah Jazz. His size, shooting and rebounding make him a perfect fit for virtually any team, but his contract is the real prize. His current salary of $18 million means he’s an easy fit on teams’ draft lists.

That’s why Jazz general manager Danny Ainge isn’t interested in trading Markkanen for anything other than a huge package. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski alluded to it during a recent appearance, but hinted that a trade could happen if the Jazz got a package they couldn’t refuse.

“In a perfect world, Utah would want to keep Markkannen and sign him to an extension this summer. However, teams are aggressive. Utah needs to listen. And there’s no shortage of teams interested in what it would take to get Markkanen out of Utah.”

To be clear, I don’t think Markkanen will be an Atlanta Hawk. There are two reasons. First, Atlanta doesn’t have the equity to do so. Mikal Bridges, who is a lesser version of the same player archetype, went for four unprotected first-round picks (2025, 2027, 2029, and 2031), a protected 2025 first-round pick, the Knicks’ 2028 unprotected pick swap, and a 2025 second-round selection from Brooklyn. For Atlanta, they would have to give up all of their first-round picks and DeAndre Hunter/Zaccharie Risacher to get a chance at the draft lottery. That’s not a deal that makes sense with the current roster. Second, I don’t think this is a deal the Hawks need to make. This year should be about evaluating how Zaccharie Risacher and Jalen Johnson function as starting power forwards. Getting Markkanen would be an expensive and illogical decision.

That being said, there are a few teams where Markkanen makes sense and have the assets/salary space to acquire him. One of these teams is the Oklahoma City Thunder.

They have a surplus of first-round picks, have reached the Western Conference semifinals, and are backed by franchise cornerstones Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren. In a highly competitive Western Conference, the Thunder can use their assets to establish themselves as the best roster in their conference by trading for Markkanen. They struggled to bounce back in their playoff loss to the Dallas Mavericks, and Markkanen’s skillset would go a long way toward solving that problem.

Having Markkanen on their roster also makes a player like Lu Dort somewhat replaceable. Dort is a big defender who has shown a lot of growth as a shooter in Oklahoma City, but he would be a bench piece if traded for Markannen. The Thunder acquired Alex Caruso earlier in the offseason, so they could take on a lineup of Caruso-SGA-Williams-Markkanen-Holmgren. Since they are exhausting their supply of first round picks, would they be interested in getting some of that value back from Atlanta?

Atlanta’s involvement would only make sense for someone like Dort, as they could add him to the bigger teams they’re building around Trae Young. Dort can compete with guards like Luka Doncic and forwards like Brandon Ingram, depending on the opponent.

An underrated part of the Jazz and Thunder discussions is that the Jazz would be interested in a play-in or playoff attempt next season. Ainge discussed his offseason outlook in a Salt Lake Tribune article written by Andy Larsen in mid-April, but there is no indication his outlook has changed in the meantime.

“We felt like we were on the verge of making a trade that would have immediately changed the dynamic of our team. But that didn’t happen. We also don’t want to go from the 23rd best team to the 18th best team and give up a bunch of stuff. That’s not our goal.”

“We’re not really interested in dinosaurs. We’re interested in good 6- or 7-year-olds. I’m not saying we wouldn’t go get a veteran player for a short-term solution to buy time, but it’s not that likely. It’s possible.”

There could be a three-team deal where the Thunder get a piece that solidifies them in the league’s top three, the Jazz get huge value for Markkanen and inexpensive short-term solutions while the Hawks add more pieces to the size-focused defensive lineup they’re building around Trae Young. This is what this exchange would look like.

It should be noted that this is just speculation and a fun exercise to see what kinds of moves can be made, not what I think a team should absolutely do. That’s all.

Falcons get: Lu Dort, Walker Kessler

Thunder gets: DeAndre Hunter, Lauri Markkanen, 2028 1st round pick (via Atlanta – top 5 protected)

The Jazz get: Clint Capela, Cason Wallace, 2026 2nd round pick (via Memphis), 2025 1st round pick (via Miami, top 15 protected), 2025 1st round pick (via Philly, top 7 protected), 2026 1st round pick (via Los Angeles Clippers, unprotected), 2028 1st round pick (via Dallas, unprotected), 2028 1st round pick swap to OKC

For Utah, getting five first-round picks and a young guard who could become a part of the team’s long-term future is a great return for Markkanen. This beats the Mikal Bridges package and gives Utah the assets to add star talent or move up in the draft for players they covet. They are also taking Clint Capela’s salary in this contract, but it is an expiring contract with minimal implications on their future. Capela would fall into the category of a short-term solution. He is a more developed version of Walker Kessler, their starting center who would be available for a trade according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

“Rival teams believe Utah is ready to engage in trade talks that would part ways with Jazz second-year center Walker Kessler.”

Oklahoma City gets the final piece to complete a team virtually free of limitations. Around a true SGA superstar, every player on this team is a three-point threat, plays average to elite defense, and fills complementary roles on the court around SGA’s scoring severity. Since they have decent room under the salary cap this offseason (around $35 million), they can take Hunter’s contract alongside Markkanen and put Hunter in a high-level sixth man role. His shooting and perimeter defense would be incredibly useful in bench lineups and his contract can be used for salary matching purposes in other trades. Their window is firmly open – having a player who can easily move into starting minutes or role player minutes is a luxury that proves his value in the playoffs.

Atlanta’s motivation for this decision is threefold. In the short term, they benefit from getting rid of salaries that don’t fit their team. Since Atlanta is not ready to contend, it is much more difficult to accept Hunter’s contract as a sixth man. He probably won’t do it again with Risacher or Johnson. In the long term, they give themselves insurance for Dyson Daniels. Daniels, who they acquired, is a wing with playmaking skills and legitimate defensive upside. However, his offensive skills are still a work in progress. In the event that Daniels is more of a role player than a future starter, Dort can step into that starting position and take on the tougher defensive assignments. Young’s lack of defensive tools puts him at a disadvantage against guards or bigger forwards who look to him. Dort takes some of that pressure off Young and completes the Hawks’ idealized lineup: their star point guard surrounded by long defenders who can shoot. A lineup of Young-Dort-Johnson-Risacher-Okongwu has serious defensive upside and is firmly in contention for a playoff spot next season.

The Hawks would also be buying very low on Kessler. For the price of a second-round pick, they get to see if he’s a rotational body or capable of being the center of the future. Okongwu can be played as a power forward and shows promise as a shooter. Last year, he shot 68.0 percent from inside the arc on decent volume, which is an above-average mark. He’s also shown signs of shooting mid-range in past seasons. Kessler has been an excellent rim protector so far and should continue to be one in the Hawks’ lineup. His offensive game is limited, but he can serve as a rim runner for Young like Capela often did. Having Kessler and Okongwu should provide, at the bare minimum, a repeat of what Atlanta had last year at the center position for a significantly cheaper cost.

While I don’t know if the Hawks would want to part with another prime or if the Thunder would really be interested in moving Dort for something less than a star player in return, the possibility of getting another prime back to preserve their surplus would undoubtedly be interesting. Ultimately, I don’t think the Markkanen deal gets done with Atlanta involved, but I would be surprised if Markkanen isn’t acquired by the Thunder this offseason. Atlanta should try to get involved in this deal to improve their future prospects.