The opinions are kind of split, but there's no denying that this current Toronto Raptors team has a lot of talented players. The real question is whether they can come together, work as a unit, and turn that talent into effective play and wins.
Now, could they use an extra boost in star power and other key areas? You bet they could. Recently, on an episode of The Zach Lowe Show, a pretty interesting trade idea was brought up about the Raptors' potential next big move: bringing in Lauri Markkanen from the Utah Jazz.
Hats off to Markkanen for making the most of his situation in Utah. He was a key piece in the Donovan Mitchell trade to Cleveland back in the 2022 offseason, and the Finnish sharpshooter surprised everyone by stepping into the role of Utah’s franchise player right away. Markkanen would, of course, be awarded the Most Improved Player award and earn an All-Star selection during his breakout in 2023. That season, he averaged nearly 26 points on 49.9% shooting from the field, 39.1% from three, and also grabbed 8.6 rebounds.
He'd continue to prove himself as a solid player for Utah in the years that followed, but he never quite matched this level of performance again. That said, the Jazz still decided to give the Finnish standout a huge five-year contract worth $238 million during the 2024 offseason. While it seemed like Markkanen would be Utah’s favorite son for the foreseeable future, it’s becoming increasingly clear that he probably won’t stay with the Jazz long-term. That's why Zach Lowe mentioned the Raptors as an interesting destination for him.
Raptors tabbed as potential Lauri Markkanen trade destination
Lowe would say this during the September 18 episode of his self-named show (full YouTube link here):
"Toronto? And it's just a matter of like, is Utah willing to eat a couple years of Brandon Ingram's salary? It could be RJ Barrett, but then you got to add in more players. It gets a little, it gets a little wonky."Zach Lowe, Sep 18, 2025
Alright, let’s unpack this a little. I’m not against Markkanen as a player at all. He’s definitely a talented shooter and scorer, has great size, and can rebound. The idea of pairing him with guys like Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and Jakob Poeltl could be pretty formidable. But here’s the thing: at an annual salary of 46.3 million dollars, Markkanen would instantly become the highest-paid player on Toronto’s cap sheet — I don’t think that’s a worthwhile investment in the slightest.
I understand where Lowe is coming from, but I have to ask: are the Raptors really improving much if they just swap Brandon Ingram for Markkanen? Ingram is on a cheaper deal and is the same age as Markkanen anyhow, so I’d say that’s probably the smarter option here.
Like Lowe mentions, I think the conversations make a bit more sense if RJ Barrett is the main player in a trade package. But Toronto will have to figure out how to match the salaries, so it's not an easy task either. I don’t know, it kind of seems like Toronto here would just be throwing out any and all possible quick fixes to try and save their winning core. But I honestly don’t think Markkannen is the kind of player who can be that true needle-mover.
It’s more like one step forward and three steps back, if that makes sense.