SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lauri Markkanen received a five-year, $238 million contract with Utah on Wednesday, according to his agent, ensuring the Jazz have a key element in their rebuilding plans.
Agent Michael Lelchitski of Sports International Group also said the deal includes $220 million in new money, and his salary for next season increases by $24 million. Markkanen's deal had one year left at $18 million before the new agreement.
“I'm excited to get this extension done,” Markkanen said in a video message posted on X. “I'm ready to get back to work and build with this franchise.”
He also thanked Jazz management for getting the deal done.
“Lauri’s ability to score in multiple ways and his versatility as a player makes our team better,” Jazz CEO Danny Ainge said in a statement. “He embodies our team’s core values on and off the court. We’re glad that he wants to be a part of our future and what we’re building here in Utah."
Utah locks up a player who has averaged 24.5 points since being traded to the club two years ago. Markkanen, a 7-footer who can extend the court with his 3-point prowess, was named the NBA's Most Improved Player in his first Jazz season and appeared on his first All-Star team.
He played his first five seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls. His highest scoring average was 18.7 points in the 2018-19 season in Chicago.
Dirk Nowitzki and Channing Frye are the only other 7-footers to make 1,000 3-pointers in NBA history, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The Jazz acquired Markkanen in a September 2022 trade that sent Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland. Markkanen's contract extension shows he is a key part of Utah's rebuilding plans under Ainge and general manager Justin Zanik.
“Lauri’s combination of size, skill, and shooting is really unique, and he’s proved he’s an All-Star level player with his improvement over the past two seasons,” Zanik said in a statement. “We’re excited that he shares the same vision of what our team can be long-term and to have him not only as a building block for the Jazz, but also as a member of the Utah community for years to come, is huge.”
Utah comes off a 31-51 record, its worst season in 10 years. The Jazz also have had consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 2016, but they answered that prior three-year losing streak by making the playoffs the next six seasons.
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FILE - Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) looks for an opening against Dallas Mavericks defender P.J. Washington (25) during an NBA basketball game in Dallas, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
President-elect Donald Trump's billionaire ally Elon Musk played a key role this week in killing a bipartisan funding proposal that would have prevented a government shutdown, railing against the plan in a torrent of more than 100 X posts that included multiple false claims.
The X owner, an unelected figure, not only used his outsize influence on the platform to help sway Congress, he did so without regard for the facts and gave a preview of the role he could play in government over the next four years.
“Trump has got himself a handful with Musk,” John Mark Hansen, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, said in an email. “Trump’s done this kind of thing before, blowing up a bill at the last minute. This time, though, it looks like he was afraid of Musk upstaging him. Now there’s a new social media bully in town, pushing the champion social media bully around.”
Hansen added: “We’ll see what Musk’s influence is when he runs up against reality — like when he proposes cutting off ‘wasteful’ spending for other people but not NASA contracts for Space-X.”
Musk’s objections to the 1,547-page omnibus bill included misinformation about congressional salaries, federal funding and public health preparedness, among other topics.
He alleged that the plan included a 40% raise for lawmakers. But the maximum pay increase possible through the proposal would have been 3.8%, according to the Congressional Research Service.
One way that members of Congress can receive a pay raise is through automatic adjustments that go into effect unless denied by law. Most members make $174,000 per a year after their last increase of 2.8% in 2009. Congressional leadership is the exception, with the Speaker of the House earning the most at $223,500 annually.
The rejected bill struck a section from a previous appropriations act that denied members of Congress this automatic pay raise. A maximum increase of 3.8% would have bumped their annual salary by about $6,600, to approximately $180,000 annually.
Musk also shared a post from another user that falsely claimed the bill provided $3 billion in funding for a potential new stadium for the NFL's Washington Commanders, commenting: “This should not be funded by your tax dollars!”
The bill included a provision to transfer control of the land that houses RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia. That transfer is necessary to pave the way for the Commanders to possibly build a new stadium in the franchise's old home — though the team is still considering other locations.
However, no such funding is provided by the bill. It states, in fact, that the federal government “shall not be responsible for payment or any costs or expenses” that the District of Columbia incurs after the transfer is complete aside from responsibilities related to specific environmental issues.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser addressed false claims about the stadium's funding on Thursday, calling them “frustrating.”
“It was stated that the C.R. contains $3 billion for a stadium,” she said at a press conference. "All wrong. There are no federal dollars related to the transfer of RFK and in fact, the legislation does not require or link at all to a stadium.
Bowser added that she has reached out to the Trump administration to correct misinformation about this issue.
In a third post, Musk incorrectly claimed that “We're funding bioweapon labs in this bill!”
The plan provided funds for up to 12 regional biocontainment research laboratories, not facilities for creating bioweapons. It stipulates that among their uses, the labs will conduct biomedical research to prepare for biological agents such as emerging infectious diseases.
A spokesperson for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press.
Some members of Congress expressed dismay that Musk had disseminated misinformation about the bill.
“I love you Elon but you need to take 5 seconds to check your sources before highlighting bottom feeders looking for clicks,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican, wrote on X.
In a hastily convened Thursday evening vote, the House rejected a new Trump-backed bill whittled down to 116 pages, with the bill failing 174-235. Dozens of Republicans joined Democrats in opposition.
The House finally approved a third spending deal Friday evening, and the Senate followed suit early Saturday. President Joe Biden planned to sign it into law later Saturday.
Trump led Republicans into the longest government shutdown in history in his first term during the 2018 Christmas season, and interrupted the holidays in 2020 by tanking a bipartisan COVID-relief bill and forcing a do-over.
FILE - Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, left, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump attend a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
FILE - President-elect Donald Trump listens to Elon Musk as he arrives to watch SpaceX's mega rocket Starship lift off for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Nov. 19, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Pool via AP, File)
