Markkanin’s sorrow!

Markanen, known as the Finnish little driver, turned into a killer as soon as he arrived at the international arena, scoring 43 points in 23 minutes, and was collectively called "suffered from being held back". In fact, Markanin is not like Mills in Australia and Bogdan in Serbia. He just works as a star in the international arena and becomes a role player in the NBA. Markkanen is tall and physical, has ball-holding and no balls, and is also an All-Star player in the NBA. I remember that he had just arrived at the Jazz three years ago. He led the team to the Western Conference level in half a season, with an average of 27 points and 9 rebounds per game, shooting percentage of more than 50% and three-point shooting percentage of more than 40%, becoming the All-Star starter of the season. Fans believe that as long as you build a team around Markkanin, although you are still a long way from winning the championship, at least Utah will not become a city that loses all year round, and you will still be sure to enter the playoffs.

But the Jazz management doesn't think so. They are not satisfied with the team being on the edge of the playoffs for many years. They are thinking about winning the championship. So he fell into a vicious cycle of winning the championship in the small ball market. In a bitter and cold place like Utah, it is almost impossible for big-name free agents to favor, and it is almost impossible to get superstars through trading. First, because there are no special bargaining chips on hand, and second, superstars now have a lot of initiative when trading. The only way for the Jazz is to play it badly and then play it badly, in order to get a high pick. Of course, it is best to be the No. 1 pick. The Jazz's plan to play badly in the past two years failed. Not to mention the top pick, the top three picks were out of reach. Last season, the Jazz only won 17 wins all the way, and this year's draft, they only won the fifth pick, and finally selected defender Bailey.

There are only two ways before Markkanin. One is to continue to study with the prince, waiting for the newly selected prince to make a fortune. If he can't make a fortune, he hopes that the next prince will play. To put it bluntly, he will continue to play with the team. The second is to wait for the team to trade at any time, because as one of the few real-time powers of the team, the Jazz management will consider trading Markkanen out for young assets and draft picks, and continue their reconstruction plans, although it seems a bit out of reach to build a strong team.

Jazz are a somewhat incredible team. They have been in the 51 years since the team was established, and have never won the No. 1 pick, or even the No. 1 pick. They really missed the draft pick at the top. However, they are also a more confident and resilient team. In the tenth year of the team's establishment, the team selected John Stockton with the 16th pick. In the eleventh year of the team's establishment, the team selected Carl Malone with the 13th pick. From then on, it started a legendary journey of 19 consecutive years of reaching the playoffs from 1984 to 2003. So the Jazz doesn't have to rely on winning the No. 1 pick and win the No. 1 pick. Maybe the next pair of "Utah Double Evil" combination is among the good seedlings in a middle-level ranking. Now the Jazz has accumulated 11 future first-round picks and $60 million expiration contracts. Maybe there will be a chance to rise in the past two years.

The Jazz are the only defender who played in the past two years. Sexton was traded to the Hornets, Clarkson also went to the Knicks, and only George is still there. Will Markanen get the right to take action in the 2022-23 season again? I think that as long as the Jazz management's goal of playing badly remains unchanged, Markkanin can only continue to be his killer in the international arena. Return to the NBA, and waiting for his destiny is still only two options: studying with the prince and being traded at any time.