Lauri Markkanen – Chicago Bulls

The trade market for Lauri Markkanen has been growing over the last week or so and The Athletic’s Sham Charania is reporting that several teams are interested in trading for Markkanen and the Bulls are listening to offers for him. 

Now in his fourth season with the Chicago Bulls, Lauri Markkanen has always been a steady offensive player and when he has been on the court this season, he has been very productive. While he missed a handful of weeks with a shoulder injury, Markkanen has still put up impressive numbers and is currently averaging 17.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and is shooting 39.6% from the floor. 

While he was out with a shoulder injury though, the Bulls still found ways to win and they did not seem to need Markkanen’s production at times. With Thaddeus Young having a great year and Wendell Carter Jr. growing into a better frontcourt player, the young forward has now become a player that can be leveraged for more assets. 

This is why the Bulls could trade Lauri Markkanen and why the Spurs could be a potential landing spot for the young forward. San Antonio does not have much frontcourt depth and could really benefit from adding another young talent like Markkanen. 

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With LaMarcus Aldridge out of the picture, the Spurs are left with Jakob Poeltl and Drew Eubanks as their only true big men, which is a cause for concern. Poeltl has been solid this year, but neither one of these guys are attractive names that can help lead the Spurs to the playoffs. Lauri Markkanen on the other hand can and he can also supply them with some much needed production on the offensive-end of the court from their frontcourt. 

If they are willing to offer up a first-round pick and a young talent, San Antonio could easily become front-runners to acquire Lauri Markkanen ahead of the NBA trade deadline.