If the Miami Heat want to make a star move right now, Lauri Markkanen is a pretty obvious option that could become more and more attainable over the next few months.
Markkanen is a potential trade target that has faded out of the limelight over the last year, but there's no question that he should be on every star-hunting team's radar heading into the start of this season. If the Utah Jazz get off to a slow start, the whispers surrounding Markkanen's availability on the trade market are only going to get louder.
And understandably so. Throughout the last three years of the Markkanen-led Jazz, they've taken steps back as a team. During his first season in Utah, they won 37 games. The next, just 31. Finally, this past season, the team took the biggest step back, winning just 17 games.
Heading into this upcoming season, the Jazz isn't expected to be much better. Assuming that does end up being the case, trading Markkanen and pivoting toward a complete teardown of the roster could be in the cards for the Jazz.
The Heat, probably among a few other teams, should be ready and willing to pounce.
What a Lauri Markkanen trade package would look like
I don't think it's all that polarizing to suggest that the Heat should be willing to pursue Markkanen. He's a really good player, and is in the prime of his career at 28 years old. The big question for the Heat, and any other interested team, revolves around whether they could afford him.
Not just his huge contract, but also the likely high asking price that the Jazz would have.
That's not an easy question to answer, but the Heat does have a solid trade package they could offer to Utah.
There are a couple of ways in which the Heat could put strong trade offers on the table for the Jazz. The first would revolve around a high draft pick offer that doesn't include Tyler Herro and, instead, salary-filler players like Andrew Wiggins and Terry Rozier.
If they were to go down that route, they'd probably have to include every available tradable first-round pick they have, and some pick swaps. They could also include one of their young pieces, perhaps such as Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic, to make the offer more attractive.
But that still might not be enough to move the needle for the Jazz.
In that case, they'd also have to be open to include Herro, which could be the key to helping push a deal across the finish line. Herro to the Jazz, straight up or a third team, could be exactly what is needed to give the Heat the additional assets they'll need to finalize such a trade.
An offer centered around Herro (to the Jazz or a third team), Jovic, Jaquez Jr., two first-round picks, and pick swaps is more of what it would likely take to get a deal done.
Are the Heat willing to go down that route? It's tough to predict at the moment. But if they're desperate to make a big splash for a star player now, this could be the path to take.