NBA Notes: Jazz, Lauri Markkanen, Thunder, Ajay Mitchell, Timberwolves

Jazz

The rest of the league keeps waiting for Utah to blink, to finally toss Lauri Markkanen onto the trade pile and lean into a full-blown tank.

But the message rival teams are getting? Don’t count on it.

As Marc Stein of The Stein Line reports, front offices around the NBA are “increasingly convinced” the Jazz want to add to the Markkanen-led core, not strip it down.

That’s despite the obvious incentive to bottom out again and keep their top-eight protected pick away from Oklahoma City.

Markkanen is giving Utah every reason to stay competitive, averaging a career-best 27.9 points and looking every bit like a franchise pillar.

Sure, speculation hasn’t vanished — and Austin Ainge didn’t completely shut the door back in October — but Markkanen’s long-term deal through 2028-29 makes Utah more likely to build than blow it up.

Thunder

Ajay Mitchell went from “nice two-way story” to “actual rotation piece” in a hurry, and the Thunder love him for it.

A year removed from a long toe injury layoff, the former UC Santa Barbara guard has returned sharper, steadier and more polished across the board.

He parlayed last year’s unexpected minutes into a standard deal in February and then a team-friendly multiyear contract as a restricted free agent.

“He’s just a really good basketball player,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander told Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman. “His feel jumps out. He doesn’t need a play called, doesn’t need structure. He just plays the right way and wins.”

The Thunder keep finding guys who fit their ecosystem. Mitchell is the latest.

Timberwolves

Down four heading into the fourth on Sunday, Wolves coach Chris Finch went to a five-man group that had barely shared the floor — and it completely flipped the game.

Mike Conley, Donte DiVincenzo, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle and Naz Reid had logged just 15 minutes together all season. Then they blitzed San Antonio during a decisive six-minute burst that swung the night.

“We’re a hard team to beat when we’re all involved,” Reid said after scoring eight of his 15 points in the final quarter. “If we do that consistently, we’re going to be really, really tough.”

For the record, Minnesota outscored the Spurs by 20 in that stretch.