Lauri Markkanen Discussion Thread

[coldfish]

Lauri to bench? Vuce+Thad starting and Lauri+Theis from bench. Prob they try Vuce+Lauri first.

Thad has been great but it really makes sense to play him lesser minutes from the bench. He has shown he can be very effective that way, and it seems to me that the increase in minutes is beginning to wear on him. Since it appears that the Bulls are seriously pushing for the playoffs, it is best to keep Thad as fresh as he can be. Of course, if need be there should be changes.

If I was the coach, I would play Thad and Vucevic off each other and not together. That way you always have a passing big man in the center and it may prevent some of those scoring droughts.

That leaves you with Lauri vs Theis. That's a tough one. More of an offense vs defense decision. I could see Lauri starting, then being the first starter out and later playing with Thad with the bench unit.

[FranchisePlayer]

so...i'm sure everyone on the board will be able to coexist calmly and peacefully with lauri sticking around post-deadline

Feel free to take another $1000 guess!

[CaPiTanAK]

If nobody wants Lauri, that means that Lauri can be resigned for cheap over the summer. I'm always of the mindset that Lauri for 14-16 mil/yr is a steal.

[PaKii94]

Lauri to bench? Vuce+Thad starting and Lauri+Theis from bench. Prob they try Vuce+Lauri first.

Thad has been great but it really makes sense to play him lesser minutes from the bench. He has shown he can be very effective that way, and it seems to me that the increase in minutes is beginning to wear on him. Since it appears that the Bulls are seriously pushing for the playoffs, it is best to keep Thad as fresh as he can be. Of course, if need be there should be changes.

If I was the coach, I would play Thad and Vucevic off each other and not together. That way you always have a passing big man in the center and it may prevent some of those scoring droughts.

That leaves you with Lauri vs Theis. That's a tough one. More of an offense vs defense decision. I could see Lauri starting, then being the first starter out and later playing with Thad with the bench unit.

Yeah my first thought was this gives us thad++ (vuc)/ thad/ both on the floor for 48 mins. That's a huge upgrade from the Lauri/wcj C rotation

[FranchisePlayer]

Why is Markkanen still here?

Sent from my moto g(7) using RealGM mobile app

The best PF available for the Bulls. The other teams didn't have enough cojones to get him.

[FranchisePlayer]

Why is Markkanen still here?

Sent from my moto g(7) using RealGM mobile app

Nobody had a 2nd rounder to spare. I look at Lauri as a playoff rental now. He can be our 6th man off the bench!

I have my eye-glasses to spare for you. Sounds like vision problems. Sure he can but he won't.

[FranchisePlayer]

If nobody wants Lauri, that means that Lauri can be resigned for cheap over the summer. I'm always of the mindset that Lauri for 14-16 mil/yr is a steal.

Imagination is a wonderful element in life.

So your logic tells you that since Lauri wasn't traded its because nobody wanted him? Riiight...

[ZOMG]

I suddenly have this weird feeling that Lauri will end up signing for a hometown discount $17 mil so his kids don't have to switch kindergartens or something, and everyone will be holding hands and singing Kumbaya.

[Mk0]

Moving Wagner for Theis benefits Lauri. Theis, like Thad, is a vet big who can help ID defensive rotations and help Lauri a lot on that end.

Thad + Theis bring defensive IQ to whoever they are paired with
Thad + Vuce bring offensive IQ and passing to whoever they are paired with

All three are great pairings with Lauri. I think surrounding him with vets in the front court is going to really help his game in the 2nd half of the season.

The only other thing AKME could have done to make Lauri's life any easier is getting a playmaking PG.

Lots of us felt that Lauri needed a change of scenery to get better. AKME opted to move the landscape around him instead. He and Zach are going to have a great finish to the season. I am really optimistic about this team.

[PaKii94]

Moving Wagner for Theis benefits Lauri. Theis, like Thad, is a vet big who can help ID defensive rotations and help Lauri a lot on that end.

Thad + Theis bring defensive IQ to whoever they are paired with
Thad + Vuce bring offensive IQ and passing to whoever they are paired with

All three are great pairings with Lauri. I think surrounding him with vets in the front court is going to really help his game in the 2nd half of the season.

The only other thing AKME could have done to make Lauri's life any easier is getting a playmaking PG.

Lots of us felt that Lauri needed a change of scenery to get better. AKME opted to move the landscape around him instead. He and Zach are going to have a great finish to the season. I am really optimistic about this team.

Yup. Actually the best thing is we won't have thad at C anymore. He was a turnstile. But also lauri won't have to play rim protector C role anymore either.

[sco]

I suddenly have this weird feeling that Lauri will end up signing for a hometown discount $17 mil so his kids don't have to switch kindergartens or something, and everyone will be holding hands and singing Kumbaya.

ZOMG, the only reason I'm glad that Lauri didn't get traded is to keep you and Kukoc-Lauri here for witty banter!

[Pentele]

I suddenly have this weird feeling that Lauri will end up signing for a hometown discount $17 mil so his kids don't have to switch kindergartens or something, and everyone will be holding hands and singing Kumbaya.

You know what, I had a very similar feeling. In my vision Lauri is taking 2mil discount next summer if it will come to that. I think people here do not realize that even with that discount, Lauri would be making more money than typically highest paid and most popular group of athletes in Finland can hope to get, i.e. hockey players in NHL. He has nothing to prove to anyone back home money-wise.

[sco]

Why is Markkanen still here?

Sent from my moto g(7) using RealGM mobile app

The best PF available for the Bulls. The other teams didn't have enough cojones to get him.

veiled Ball reference?

[Swuul]

I was hoping Lauri would get a new scenery after the trade-line. Well, he did, though not the way I expected

[FranchisePlayer]

Why is Markkanen still here?

Sent from my moto g(7) using RealGM mobile app

The best PF available for the Bulls. The other teams didn't have enough cojones to get him.

veiled Ball reference?

Actually no but a clever thought. I genuinely think multiple teams wanted Lauri. Would love to hear if there were offers AK rejected and which players were on table?

[FriedRise]

Read on Twitter

Between Vuc and Theis, Lauri now has a couple large Euro men to learn from. It’s a huge step up from WCJ, Gafford, and Kornet.

[Leslie Forman]

If I was the coach, I would play Thad and Vucevic off each other and not together. That way you always have a passing big man in the center and it may prevent some of those scoring droughts.

Theis is a decent passer himself.

This was clearly a screw the future, we're all-in now move. I think Lauri is just gonna be a 15-20MPG guy now. He's still here, but it's over for him.

[SalmonsSuperfan]

Read on Twitter

Between Vuc and Theis, Lauri now has a couple large Euro men to learn from. It’s a huge step up from WCJ, Gafford, and Kornet.

dubious about this claim. Finland, Germany and Montenegro/Serbia are pretty different places, I doubt there's some pan-European identity that connects these very different culturally and geographically places.
almost seems like cowley is saying lauri needs to be surrounded by white people in order to play good ball.

however, i'm OK with the fact that lauri will remain here for at least the rest of the season. let's see how he plays in his natural role as 3rd fiddle.

[MissileMike]

Read on Twitter

[HouseOfLight]

Thanks for the laugh.

"Lazy play"... in the games where Lauri has been benched, he's received kudos from the fanbase for battling under the basket much more than he usually does.

So which is it? Lazy or not? Maybe Billy shouldn't tell Lauri to "play more physical" if it leads to performances like these?

At what point will Donovan start taking responsibility for putting this team and its players in bad situations?

He's turning out to be a worse game coach than Boylen.

Again, you are watching a different game than I am. On defense, Lauri is frequently so far out of position that he is in the wrong zip code. He exerts himself from time to time and his fans laud it but most of the time he just drifts around the court.

From what I saw last night, Lauri was benched for being lazy on defense.

I honestly don't understand what in the world Lauri has done to deserve such a diehard fanbase.

Sent from my CPH1979 using Tapatalk

....huh? ....Markkanen doesn’t have a fan base at all, let alone a “die hard” one. No one even knows who he is outside of Bulls fans, NBA junkies, and people that vaguely remember him for his 3p shooting during his rookie year. He’s an irrelevant non entity, some random euro stretch 4 that no one’s ever heard of. He doesn’t have a fan base or any semblance of a brand to speak of lol. Where on earth are you getting that he has a “die hard” fan base when the average sports fan wouldn’t be able to recognize him in a photo?