Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen will miss his fifth consecutive game on Saturday vs. Portland due to a left hamstring strain.
According to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter links), Markkanen is set to be reevaluated at some point next week, with Utah saying its leading scorer “continues to make progress” from his injury.
A first-time All-Star in 2022/23, Markkanen had a breakout season with the Jazz, winning the Most Improved Player award in the process. He’s off to a strong start in ’23/24 as well, averaging 23.7 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.1 SPG and 0.9 BPG on .484/.383/.840 shooting in 15 games (34.1 MPG).
It’s unclear when Markkanen suffered the injury, but he last played on November 22 against the Trail Blazers. The 26-year-old is on a bargain contract relative to his production, as he’ll earn about $35.3MM over the next two season until he hits free agency again in 2025.
After tomorrow’s game, Utah has multiple days off — the team doesn’t play again until next Wednesday.
Guards Jordan Clarkson (thigh) and Kris Dunn (personal reasons) will also be out on Saturday, per Larsen. It will be Clarkson’s second straight missed game, while Dunn will miss his fourth consecutive contest.
The Jazz are currently 6-13, which is the third-worst record in the Western Conference.
I didn’t even know Markkanen had any hamstrings. Huh.
Trade Lauri to OKC for Giddey, Dort, +4 FRPS.
Utah and Karl Malone would riot. Golovkin would tweet it
Danny intends to tank at all cost this season. And if it takes preventing Markkanen from playing due to some mysterious “injury”. Pulling a hammy always sounds good, way more credible than a nasal hair inflammation.
That dumpster fire of misfits in SLC won’t turn into a contender any time soon, Danny Boy’s addiction to collecting picks is in the way. That means he’ll have to trade Markkanen sooner rather than later. Markkanen has repeatedly stated that he wants to play for a postseason contender, which Utah won’t be for at least another couple of years or maybe never in the foreseeable future.
Jazz fans already talk themselves into the vision of halcyon days, pregnant with another haul of FRPs following a Markkanen trade. Time for Lauri to put his SLC property on the market.
Or is Markkanen who is the one ‘playing’ anyone here.. Saw a LOT of this in Chicago. Not surprising he is doing it somewhere else now.
Yeah, I bet you guys in Chicago know everything about Markkanen. Reinsdorf’s clown show has earned quite a reputation in evaluating and developing players.
Draft picks are how you build the Detroit Pistons (5 top 5 picks in 5 years). Draft picks are not how you build a team that wins.
Danny, if he succeeds, will succeed by getting players, not picks.