SAN ANTONIO — Las Vegas oddsmakers are busy with 2024 NBA offseason prop futures. With the regular season complete, players could be on the move, including Utah's Lauri Markkanen.
Several major online sportsbooks are releasing which teams have the best odds of landing the All-Star forward if he does not remain with the Jazz. According to Bovada Sportsbook, the San Antonio Spurs are the No. 1 team he could call home next season if Utah trades him.
Bovada has the Spurs with the best odds of getting Markkanen at +600.
The Thunder (+850), Pistons (+900), and Magic (+1200) follow the Spurs as favorites to land him.
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If the Spurs want to add him for next season, it must be via a trade. Utah will likely have a high price point in any deal.
His salary is $18,0 million next season (final contract year), and San Antonio can match a Jazz offer, but how far will the team bend to Utah's demands?
According to a report via The Ringer, Utah's asking price is steep.
"My impression from talking to teams is that it's something resembling the haul the Jazz received for (Donovan) Mitchell and (Rudy) Gobert: so, five-ish firsts and/or players of comparable value."
Markkanen would help fill San Antonio's need for an All-Star forward to pair with Victor Wembanyama.
He is entering his prime (27 years old) and holds career averages of 18.1 points per game and 1.5 assists, 46% field-goal shooting, and 38% from the three-point line.
He's the stretch forward, an athletic player the Spurs can use, and if needed, they can match Utah's asking price, considering the amount of assets the team is sitting on.
What do you think, Spurs fans? Should the Spurs go all-in to acquire him? Let us know on X at KENS 5 and JeffGSpursKENS5.