These players would be ideal next to Lauri Markkanen

Lauri Markkanen is in Utah for the long haul . Or at the very least, for the entire 2024-25 NBA season.

The Jazz’s lone All-Star signed a five-year contract extension/contract renegotiation last week, worth $238 million, $220 million of which in new money.

It means that the Finnish forward is a Jazzman for the foreseeable future.

Of course, in the immediate future the Jazz are not exactly built to the benefit of Markkanen. Of those players with guaranteed contracts with the Jazz next year, six are 20 or younger, including three rookies. Only two players on the team have more NBA experience than Markkanen — 36-year old guard Patty Mills and 32-year old guard Jordan Clarkson — and only one other player is older than Markkanen — recently signed journeyman center Drew Eubanks.

The Jazz look like a team that is built to lose and lose often , what with the only real NBA vets on the team being Markkanen, Clarkson, Eubanks, Mills, John Collins, Svi Mykhailiuk and Collin Sexton.

By signing Markkanen to a five-year extension, though, the Jazz have signaled a desire to build around him.

Which begs the question, which players would be ideal fits next to Markkanen?

This isn’t an exercise in adding superstars to the Jazz. Those players are not often traded and acquiring anyone of that ilk is more difficult than ever due to the new collective bargaining agreement. But even after you eliminate the superstars and All-Stars around the league, there are still plenty of players who would be ideal fits alongside Markkanen. Even better fits than some of the best players in the league.

Here are some of those players.

Jonathan Isaac, Orlando Magic forward

There may not be a better defender in the NBA than Jonathan Isaac. That isn’t hyperbole either.

Per NBA.com , Isaac had the best defensive rating of any player in the league last season, and it wasn’t particularly close.

His defense was team-changing for the Magic, helping Orlando improve from 15th in points allowed per game in 2022-23 to fourth this past season. Isaac spurred an even bigger leap in overall defense rating, as Orlando was ranked 16th in 2022-23 before improving to second overall in 2023-24.

Listed at 6-foot-10, 230 pounds, Isaac has the length and quickness to defend every position on the floor, one through five, and he does it at a nearly unprecedented level.

“Jonathan Isaac is an elite, elite, elite, elite defender,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley told NBA.com . “I think he just knows his timing. He knows he can guard bigs. He can guard smalls. He has great anticipation. His ability to protect the rim, but also sit down and guard guys that are on the perimeter and be able to contest all shots with his length.”

Isaac would be an ideal wing to play next Markkanen because of his defensive prowess. While Markkanen has many elite traits, defense isn’t one of them, especially not at the forward position. According to NBA.com , Markkanen came in as the No. 476 best defender in the NBA among all who saw even the smallest amount of playing time. According to individual defensive rating, Markkanen was one of the 100 worst defenders in the league last season.

Isaac is ideally suited to cover up for Markkanen’s weaknesses on that end of the floor.

Isaac wouldn’t come cheap.

He just signed a four-year deal with the Magic for $59 million, about $14.75 million per season, and Orlando has valued him ever since it drafted him No. 6 in the 2017 draft.

Isaac has also been injury-prone, and missed two full seasons recovering from a torn ACL.

At 26, though, he fits Markkanen’s timeline almost perfectly and his strengths cover for Markkanen’s better than any other player in the league.

LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets guard

Let’s get this out of the way first — to acquire Ball would take a good chunk of the Jazz’s horde of picks and young players. And it would also take a major shift from Hornets management, a paradigm shift to center their rebuild on forward Brandon Miller rather than the oft-injured Ball.

Ball was the No. 3 pick in the 2020 draft and by all accounts Charlotte still wants to build with him.

If a shift to Miller from Ball were to happen in Charlotte, though, Ball would be an ideal running mate for Markkanen.

Arguably Markkanen’s most significant weakness as a player — after the aforementioned defense — is playmaking. Markkanen is an elite shooter and an athletic finisher, but as of yet has not proven to be the driver of an elite offense. Especially when it comes to setting his teammates up for success.

Ball would fill that role well, letting Markkanen focus on what he does at an All-Star level.

Entering his fifth year in the NBA, Ball has averaged at least six assists per game every year of his career, bumping that up to eight-plus assists per game in each of the last two seasons. Coupled with his shooting ability — he shot 50% from 2-point range, 36% from 3-point range and 87% from the free-throw line last season — Ball would command considerable attention from opposing defenses, making Markkanen an even more effective offensive weapon for Utah.

Ball has been injury-prone and is entering the first year of a five-year, nearly $204 million contract, so the Jazz would have to believe that All-Star or even All-NBA potential is still a possibility for the 22-year-old. But with his size — 6-foot-7, 180 pounds — youth and playmaking ability, Ball is the type of lead guard that would bring out the best in Markkanen, who, aside from a brief stint with Mike Conley, hasn’t played with a true point guard while with the Jazz.

Bruce Brown, Toronto Raptors wing

Listed at 6-foot-4, 202 pounds, Brown isn’t the stereotypical perfect NBA wing. He’s shorter than you’d like and for the most part isn’t great at any one skill. Notably, he isn’t an especially good shooter.

Brown has, however, proven to be an ideal fit next to elite talent; a plug-and-play guy on any sort of roster, alongside nearly any kind of player.

He was an elite role player with the Nets when they had Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, and then was an even better complementary piece while with Denver and Nikola Jokic, helping the Nuggets win their first NBA championship.

Now with the Toronto Raptors — whose timeline he doesn’t fit at all — Brown’s ability to do a little bit of everything would make him dangerous next to Markkanen, whose scoring ability/gravity as an elite shooter would open up the floor for Brown to do real damage and facilitate the offense to the benefit of every Jazz player on the court.

Then there’s Brown’s signature strength — versatile defense — which is a necessity for guys playing alongside Markkanen in the long run.

“Brown guarded every position on the floor and earned the reputation as one of the most dependable defenders in the league,” The DNVR’s Harrison Wind writes . “Has a rock-solid frame, quick feet, and packs a 6-9 wingspan. He rarely gets hurt. He lives to defend and wants the toughest defensive assignments every night.”

Brown, who is 28, is entering the final year of a two-year deal signed with Indiana last summer and will make $23 million this season, so the Jazz may be better suited to let him go to free agency and then sign him with what will be plentiful cap space. A trade now would require surrendering at least a first-round draft pick, plus salary.

Wendell Carter Jr., Orlando Magic center

Another Magic starter, Carter wouldn’t fit with the current iteration of the Jazz, what with Walker Kessler standing as Utah’s starting center and Collins a small-ball option at the position, too. Throw in Eubanks and rookie Kyle Filipowski , and the Jazz have plenty of size.

But Carter — at this point in his career — is the much better fit than practically all of those players next to Markkanen, with maybe only Filipowski and his playmaking standing as the exception.

What is so good about Carter? Well the 25-year-old is an excellent defender, rating similar to the likes of Joel Embiid, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford last season, better than notable names like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Evan Mobley.

At 6-foot-10, 270 pounds, Carter is capable of guarding most of the league’s best big men, but he is also a fairly versatile defender for a player with his size.

What Carter adds on offense is what really puts him over the top.

The Duke product has developed into a capable 3-point shooter, and shot 37% from behind the arc last season. That was an improvement on the 36% he shot the season before, and the 33% he shot the year before that. In fact, Carter has only gotten better and better as a 3-point shooter, making him a viable 3-and-D option at the center position.

If there is a weakness in his game, it is rebounding — he only averaged seven rebounds per game last season — but that was more of a product of playing with a very large Magic team that featured the 6-foot-10 Paolo Banchero and 6-foot-10 Franz Wagner in the starting lineup, rather than anything Carter did or didn’t do.

In 2021, before Banchero showed up, Carter averaged a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Carter has two years remaining on a four-year, $50 million contract, making him fairly affordable.

Acquiring Carter would probably mean losing Kessler — the Magic are a rising Eastern Conference playoff team that will want win-now players — but Kessler hasn’t proven an ideal fit next to Markkanen yet anyway.

Luke Kennard, Memphis Grizzlies wing

This suggestion may seem weird at first glance. Kennard isn’t similar to practically any of the aforementioned players.

He isn’t a strong defender and was only able to procure a one-year, $9.25 million contract from the Grizzlies this summer.

Listed at 6-foot-5, Kennard isn’t exactly big either for a shooting guard. He’s not small, but nor is he big, and the Jazz seem to be trying to be on the larger side with Markkanen, Filipowski, Cody Williams and Taylor Hendricks on the roster.

The things is, though, Kennard has one skill that he does practically better than anyone else in the league — 3-point shooting.

Last season, Kennard shot 45% from behind the arc, second in the league to Phoenix’s Grayson Allen. The year before that, he led the league with a shooting percentage of 49%.

Kennard is, arguably, the best spot-up 3-point shooter in the league.

Currently, outside of Markkanen, the Jazz don’t have great shooters. Even good ones. Clarkson is streaky. Sexton too. Keyonte George is looking more like that kind of shooter as well. Really, outside of the recently signed Mills, the Jazz don’t have any proven shooters on the roster to complement Markkanen.

Why does Markkanen need to play with a shooter when he is such a great one himself?

It is all about spacing. Kennard’s mere presence on the court would open up the lane considerably, allowing Markkanen the chance to do damage in the paint. Put both Kennard and Markkanen on the outside and the lane would be wide open for George and rookie Isaiah Collier to do damage.

Kennard may not be the kind of player the Jazz could play deep in the playoffs when the season is on the line, but his shooting would make everything easier offensively during the regular season, a need for any star, Markkanen included.

Anfernee Simons, Portland Trail Blazers guard

There likely won’t be a more controversial fit suggestion than Simons.

The 25-year-old guard seems like a retread of players like Clarkson and George, a smallish scoring guard — Simons is 6-foot-3 — with limited defense and playmaking.

If he’s an ideal fit next to Markkanen, why not just keep Clarkson and George?

The thing is, Simons is a better shooter and playmaker than either of those players, and Markkanen needs a scorer who can take some of the burden off of him.

Last year, Simons shot 39% from 3-point range, and he has shot better than that from behind the arc in multiple seasons. He averaged 22.6 points per game, a new career high, and handed out a career-high 5.5 assists per game.

His play didn’t lead to wins for Portland, of course, but offensively — right now — he is better than both Clarkson and George.

The Jazz wouldn’t want Simons to be the No. 2 to Markkanen’s No. 1. He’s not good enough for that (Markkanen probably isn’t good enough to be the No. 1 on a title-winning team either).

But Simons would be a great role-playing scorer. Think Michael Porter Jr. in Denver, or Kristaps Porziņģis and Derrick White in Boston. Simons is good enough to start on a good team and be a solid contributor, exactly the kind of fourth or fifth option that is needed in today’s NBA.

And at his age, there is still reason to hope he can improve beyond that.

Simons has two years left on his current contract and will make nearly $26 million this season.