Lauri Markkanen inks five-year, $238 million renegotiated extension

Lauri Markkanen inks five-year, $238 million renegotiated extension

Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen has renegotiated and signed a five-year, $238 million mega extension with $220 million in new money, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski was among the first to report Wednesday.

Markkanen, who became contract extension eligible Tuesday, joins a short list of players who have negotiated their salaries over the last three years–others including Jordan Clarkson, Domantas Sabonis, Jonathan Isaac and Myles Turner.

Markkanen’s cap hit for this season was originally $18.04 million, according to Spotrac; the Jazz will add approximately $24.13 million in cap space to bump up his 2024-25 salary to $42.2 million. According to HoopsHype’s Yossi Gozlan, his year two cap hit will be worth $46.4 million–the projected first-year max salary for players with 7-9 years of experience (Markkanen will have eight at the end of ’24-25)–though the 7-foot big will be making less than the max available in the final three years of his deal.

The Jazz will still have cap space available, but still have yet to announce the signings of Drew Eubanks and Johnny Juzang, who are expected to make a combined $7.6 million this upcoming season.

As I outlined Tuesday, Markkanen choosing to sign after Aug. 7 makes him ineligible to be traded during the 2025-26 season. That doesn’t mean a team–such as the Golden State Warriors, who were the most aggressive in the Markkanen “sweepstakes”–won’t try to trade for him in the future. Though that can no longer happen until next offseason, albeit at a much more expensive price tag.

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This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.

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