Chicago Bulls Receive: G Fred VanVleet
Toronto Raptors Receive: F Lauri Markkanen (via sign-and-trade), G Tomas Satoransky, CHI 2021 2nd Round Pick (Pick #38), CHI 2022 1st Round Pick (Swap, More Favorable to TOR), CHI 2024 1st Round Pick (Top-8 Protected)
Chicago is in an interesting place this offseason because while it does not appear that they have a ton of cap space to bring in a third, All-Star-like talent, they do have leverage when it comes to trades.
Tomas Satoransky and Thaddeus Young both have partially-guaranteed contracts for the 2021-22 season and the Bulls could absolutely look to use Lauri Markkanen as a sign-and-trade option.
The 7-foot big man is a restricted free agent this offseason and after he and the Bulls failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension before the 2020-21 season, this could mean that his time in Chicago has come to an end.
With the Bulls having Nikola Vucevic now, there is now an immediate need for a guy like Lauri Markkanen anymore, which is why they may not want to pay $16M-$19M per year to keep him.
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However, the Toronto Raptors were a team that was interested in Markkanen during this past season and they could show interest in him again during the offseason. Toronto lost Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka in free agency last offseason, so they desperately need to add more frontcourt help this summer.
Not only can Markkanen help them on the interior rebounding, but he has the ability to step out on the perimeter and knock down three-point shots at a high rate. Over the last four seasons, Markkanen has shot 36.6% from three-point range, making him the perfect kind of stretch big man the Raptors will be looking for.
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Lauri Markkanen gives the Raptors a big man, Tomas Satoransky is a veteran guard who can fill-in for the loss of VanVleet in Toronto’s backcourt and the Raptors are also able to improve their draft capital for the future in this trade.
Overall, this is not a terrible deal for either side, but is this a trade that truly makes sense for both the Bulls and Raptors given the path both franchises are trending towards?
