Lauri Markkanen will continue to call Salt Lake City home for the time being.

Markkanen’s contract “is projected to be worth upwards of $200 million over five years,” The Athletic reported.

Markkanen was entering the final year of his contract and the subject of steady trade speculation throughout the summer despite the Jazz not making him readily available. He became eligible to pen an extension on Tuesday, and the timing of any potential deal carried major significance.

The Jazz can’t trade Markkanen for six months after re-signing him thanks to the collective bargaining agreement. If he had signed on Tuesday, officially, Utah could’ve moved him on the day of the 2025 trade deadline (Feb. 6 at 3 p.m. ET). Doing so from Wednesday and on means he’s locked in for the entire 2024-25 season.

After they went 31-51 in 2023-24, it’s clear the Jazz need significant reinforcements to become a contender again. The talent at the top of the 2025 NBA draft class incentivizes a franchise to embrace a total rebuild as well.

For Utah, trying to be as bad as possible could be one theoretical goal, and trading Markkanen would help to achieve that.

Being unable to exercise that option isn’t the worst thing, though, because the Jazz can just cash in next summer. As things stand, they’re probably a lottery team with or without Markkanen, too.

The 7’0″ forward had the best season of his career in 2022-23. He averaged 25.6 points and 8.6 rebounds and shot 39.1 percent from beyond the arc, earning his first ever All-Star nod and getting named the NBA’s Most Improved Player.

That wasn’t a false dawn for Markkanen. This past year, he averaged 23.2 points on 48.0 percent shooting, including 39.9 percent on threes, along with 8.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists. A double-overtime loss to the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 19 was his best performance of the campaign. He poured in 38 points and pulled down 17 rebounds.

Prior to arriving in Utah, the 27-year-old didn’t get to consistently enjoy a ball-dominant role and was often parked on the perimeter. He had a 21.6 percent usage rate and a 49.7 percent three-point attempt rate, per Basketball Reference.

With the Jazz resetting following the trades of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, Markkanen was afforded a lot more freedom, and he showed he can be far more than a stretch 4.

“Lauri’s done such a good job of continuing to work on different ways he can impact the game offensively,” head coach Will Hardy said in February 2023 to Ryan Kostecka of the Jazz’s official site. “Obviously he’s shown the ability to shoot the ball. … But the physicality he’s been able to play with, to drive the ball and as a screener, has given him the opportunity to score in a variety of ways.”

In the immediate aftermath of the Mitchell trade, much of the attention paid to Utah’s return naturally focused on the three first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps. Markkanen certainly wasn’t the headliner, though he might become the most valuable asset to come from the combined returns for Gobert and Mitchell.

Utah is in a great position to either make him a long-term cornerstone or flip him down the road for more picks to help fuel its ongoing rebuild.