Startlingly depressing news: a few minutes ago, Lauri Markkanen shocked jazz with his return.

Lauri Markkanen, a forward from Finland, played for the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers before becoming a hot commodity with the Utah Jazz a few years ago. The problem is that teams hoping to acquire him will have some difficulty because he is not available for trade anytime soon.

The Jazz have shown interest in renegotiating and extending Markkanen’s contract in the last few months before he becomes a free agency in the summer of 2020. With their budget space, they can use this season to more than quadruple his current $18 million contract, and in 2025, they can sign the former All-Star to a multi-year agreement.

The Jazz have been rather quiet this summer, concentrating on lesser acquisitions like Johnny Juzang, Drew Eubanks, and second-round pick Kyle Filipowski, even though they have over $30 million in salary room. This suggests that they are putting flexibility first and might decide to keep Markkanen around.

The Jazz are positioned to keep Markkanen as a vital component of their future ambitions, as seen by their unwillingness to make significant changes. The Finnish forward will be available for a contract extension on August 6. The film of Markkanen’s off-season workouts supports the idea that he is getting ready to advance in his Jazz career.

The Finnish All-Star would rather remain in Salt Lake City to play for the Jazz, according to recent reports. Utah might have to retain his services for the foreseeable future, according to a report by Doric Sam for Bleacher Report.