Many NBA players are in action this summer in the 2025 EuroBasket tournament. Potentially the most intriguing of these players is Lauri Markkanen, power forward for the Utah Jazz and Finnish national team. Markkanen has been a hot trade target for years and his impressive play thus far in Europe may have caught the eye of many front offices, including the Detroit Pistons.
Detroit Pistons trade target: Lauri Markkanen
Markkanen had a breakout year in his first season with the Jazz, winning Most Improved Player and his lone All-Star selection thus far. He averaged 25.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game while shooting 50 percent from the field, 39 percent from three and 87 percent from the free throw line. But that was in 2022-23, and his performances in the two seasons since have been relatively lackluster.
Markkanen has not played as well in the last two seasons and has also missed a ton of games; he only appeared in 47 contests last season. Surely some of that decrease in performance and especially appearances is due to the team environment and incentives on the Jazz, who are clearly tanking to get high draft picks. Still, many have wondered if he’s still up to the task of being an All-Star level player and EuroBasket will be a great stage for him to display his talents in games that matter a bit more.
Markkanen has been a dream trade target for the Pistons due to his versatility as an off-ball scorer. Of course, he has the potential to be a lethal shooter, as displayed by his shooting percentages in his All-Star season. But he also has a vicious streak of attacking the rim that’s nasty enough to earn him the nickname “The Finnisher” (ok maybe some of that is from his nationality too). But in all seriousness, Markkanen can throw it down with the best of them, especially coming off a pick and roll.
His ability to blend shooting and rim finishing talents in a two-man game as either a pick-and-pop or pick-and-roll would fit perfectly next to an elite playmaker and more ball-dominant player like Cade Cunningham. Markkanen’s talents are purely additive on offense because he can score points efficiently without demanding the ball for long periods.
He’s also shown some stretches of passable and even good defense, especially in his All-Star season but he’s put less effort into that end as the Jazz tanking has ramped up. EuroBasket is probably the best place to see what he can really give on defense because his motivation will be at an all-time high representing his country in a tournament that they are hosting.
So far, Markkanen has been very impressive in two exhibition games for EuroBasket and averaged 39.5 points per game. On paper, he’s a great fit in Detroit but there will be plenty of suitors lining up if he has a good tournament.