The NBA’s trade deadline is Feb. 5, which means there’s just over a week remaining for the Utah Jazz to make any moves until the offseason.
At this point, don’t expect any major ones.
Jazz executives are expecting a quiet deadline period for the team as they move forward in their rebuild — they’re not expected to be major buyers or major sellers in this window. However, as in the last couple of trade deadlines, they could make a few minor moves around the fringes.
Here’s what to watch for:
Lauri Markkanen trade not expected
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward/center Lauri Markkanen (23) guards Dallas Mavericks forward/center Anthony Davis (3) during the game between the Utah Jazz and the Dallas Mavericks in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.
Finnish forward Lauri Markkanen is having an excellent season, though he has missed seven games now due to a bad case of the flu that caused him to spend “six days without leaving the house,” he said Monday. He was expected to return Tuesday in the Jazz’s game against the Clippers.
At this point, the Jazz see Markkanen as a key part of their future core, along with Keyonte George, Ace Bailey, and Walker Kessler. Those players are all significantly younger than Markkanen, but keeping him allows the Jazz to compete for a playoff spot as soon as next season.
That’s not to say Markkanen is “untouchable” in trade conversations — but it would, at this point, require an extremely strong offer. The Jazz simply haven’t received an offer that has come close to their asking price with Markkanen, either before or after his extension was signed a year and a half ago.
Jazz happy with Jusuf Nurkic, Svi Mykhailiuk
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz guard Svi Mykhailiuk (10) dunks in NBA action between the Utah Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Delta Center, on Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026.
Going into the season, Jusuf Nurkic looked like an obvious trade candidate. On an expiring contract and 31 years old, he seemed to make more sense on a competitive team.
But Nurkic has played so well with the Jazz, including three consecutive triple-doubles, that Jazz executives are thinking of ways to include them in their plans moving forward. That would mean a new contract this summer, likely at a lower average annual value than the $19.4 million he’s owed this year.
Doing so would eat into the roughly $60 million the Jazz have in cap space this summer; remember that the team also will need to use much of that money to sign Walker Kessler to a new deal. Keeping both would lock down the Jazz’s center rotation, with one offense-first player in Nurkic and one defense-first player in Kessler, giving the Jazz some flexibility in how they play.
As he’s an unrestricted free agent in the summer, Nurkic would have to choose the Jazz over any other NBA offers, but Nurkic says he’s happy in Utah. “I’m a Jazz for life, baby,” he said with a smile at a practice last week.
Svi Mykhailiuk, meanwhile, is under contract for two more seasons at under $4 million per year. He also seemed like a logical trade candidate entering the year, but has played well enough in the Jazz’s starting lineup (remarkably, he’s second on the team behind only George in starts this season) that the team sees him as a bargain contract moving forward.
Selling minor veteran players
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Kevin Love (42) as the Utah Jazz host the Memphis Grizzlies, NBA basketball in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025.
Fellow veterans Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love are less in the Jazz’s plans moving forward, though, and could be moved if the situation made sense.
Anderson is making $9.2 million this year and is under contract for $9.6 million next year, but that second year is non-guaranteed, so long as he is waived before June 29. Anderson has played well when on the court for Utah, but has frequently found himself out of the rotation as the Jazz prioritize youth.
The 37-year-old Love, meanwhile, is an impending free agent making $4 million this season. He also has played relatively well in his infrequent minutes for the Jazz.
These players aren’t expected to have significant league interest, but the Jazz could make a deal similar to that of the one they made last season, when they sent veterans Drew Eubanks and Patty Mills to the Clippers in exchange for P.J. Tucker’s contract and a second-round pick. The deal saved the Clippers money under the luxury tax, while the Jazz eventually moved Tucker in another move later in the week.
Using cap space
Speaking of money issues, the Jazz currently stand as the team with the second-most cap space in the NBA, behind only the Brooklyn Nets. The Jazz are $10 million under the NBA’s salary cap, giving them flexibility to acquire contracts in exchange for assets.
Right now, Toronto, Phoenix, and Denver all stand within a million of the luxury tax line, per Spotrac, and could be looking to get under. The Lakers, Sixers, Clippers, Rockets, and Magic are all within $10 million of that line, with the Cavaliers, Knicks, Warriors, Mavericks, Timberwolves, and Celtics deeper in the proverbial red.
What might make sense? D’Angelo Russell has fallen out of Dallas’ rotation; it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Mavs dump his salary on the Jazz in exchange for a smaller asset. The Jazz taking on Maxi Kleber’s salary from the Lakers — he, too, is out of the Lakers’ rotation — could also earn the Jazz an asset.
