Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, and the Chicago Bulls have a tightrope to walk in the coming days. They are currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, 2.5 games clear of the 11th place Toronto Raptors. Continuing to play for a spot in the play-in game while also keeping an eye toward the future is what Chicago will be juggling with.
That makes the Bulls one of the teams to keep an eye on leading up to the trade deadline. While there are plenty of contending teams that would love to add Thaddeus Young, the Bulls sound like they will be holding onto him beyond the deadline to help for their playoff push. However, one of his front-court mates could be on the move.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Bulls are listening to offers for forward Lauri Markkanen as several teams have expressed interest in the fourth-year forward out of Arizona.
It should come as no surprise that Markkanen is drawing trade interest. Like anyone else in his draft class that didn’t come to a rookie extension, he is set to hit restricted free agency this upcoming summer. Teams that would be interested in signing him to an offer sheet, which the Bulls could then match, could try to snag him at the trade deadline instead.
While Markkanen leaves a lot to be desired as a defender and rebounder, he has finally begun unlocking his vast potential on the offensive side of the ball this season.
In 22 games, Markkanen is averaging 17.7 points per game and doing it very efficiently. He is making a career-high 48.3 percent of his shots overall and 39.6 percent of his 3-pointers. A lot of teams would like to add a stretch big to their frontcourt that could help open things up offensively.
It will be interesting to see what the Bulls are looking for in a return package. They selected another power forward, Patrick Williams, in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft, so they have a replacement waiting in the wings.
They have their 2018 first-round pick, Wendell Carter Jr., on the roster still as well, in addition to Daniel Gafford, so they have options to soak up Markkanen’s minutes if they do indeed move on from him.
