What does Lauri need to show for you to want to give him a MAX deal? - Merged

[mack2354]

He isn't who we thought he'd be but I think he can still be a valuable cog on a championship team. Just because he doesn't seem to be the All-star we wanted doesn't mean we should dump him

Sent from my SM-J337T using RealGM mobile app

[bulliedog8]

Keep him. Give him an extension, just doesnt need to be a max. Not every player is worthy of a max. 4/80-90 (assuming he improves from what he has shown in the short preseason) is great money for a 3rd option type player.

[kulaz3000]

[IamSam]

Personally i give for Lauri time until next autumn ( October 2020 ) to prove his skills and competences.
And if he has not shown any progress then Bulls have to trade him for real stretch 4 PF who can create his own shot without PG's help.

Real stretch 4 PF who can create his own shot without PG's help and is available for a trade? Who is this player?

Dirk Nowitski... oh wait, it's 2019.

[PlayerUp]

Just match whatever 4 year deal he gets. Don't give him a 5 year bird right contract if he turns out to be nothing more than a role player. That said, it's way too early to judge this based on an underwhelming 4 game preseason stretch.

[Hangtime84]

Says he’s doesn’t care about stats but then posts stats....

Preseason doesn’t matter yet you’re judging him off just that....

3rd year player... forgets this is the start of his 3rd year.....

This slightly makes me glad Gar/Pax are our GMs because it could be worse.

I’m happy too

Many guys who are top in the league were not thought of as great players entering their 3rd year.

This is all noise...

[Hangtime84]

We all knew this thread was coming expect many more.

Up next...

Trade our second best player away because our other best player needs to shine more

[Jcool0]

[Tetlak]

Lauri is going to get vastly overpaid. I personally don't think he has it in him to become a consistent all-star level player. He is far too limited.

That being said, you do not trade him for poor value. I think he needs to be the centerpiece of a larger package to try to bring in a star forward. (But will there even be any available?)

[WYO]

You're basing so much off of one preseason game that no one cares about. I agree with you that the Bulls need to think about what they do with Markkanen, but your argument with stats from a preseason game is pointless.

[coldfish]

I would trade him for Giannis. I would trade him for Zion. There are several other players I would take for him too.

I certainly wouldn't just dump him.

There is risk involved with Lauri at this point. This thread is acknowledging that but likely needs some type of trade suggestion to give it perspective. I don't think Lauri has done anything that makes him untouchable.

[bledredwine]

Don’t worry. Lauri will be excellent, I promise. It’s not easy to find a player with his attributes. We need to worry about defense and who we surround him with.

There’s a good chance that Lauri at least becomes an all star someday, so I’m surprised at the 30% against him. Should we max him? Well that’s another story, and one which we will find out after this season.

[weneeda2guard]

I would still give him this year but I do agree that this needs to be looked at. Right now lauri has value and can be a center piece for a big trade for a star. If the bulls make strides and can compete for a top 3 spot in the east it's worth considering the change if it means bringing a legit star to the team to pair with lavine coby porter jr etc. And hopefully make us a legit contender.

What would kill lauri value is the bulls hanging to a hope he will fully figure it out, hand him this large deal then finding out he is what he is. Once all that money is attached to him it becomes difficult to trade him. Seems this the only time we can be honest about these players , after they get they money. Before then it baby them, and keep giving them the development youth and time excuse. Bulls have a history of hanging on to guys we draft a bit longer than we should have.

I would give him this season, and if it just doesn't seem like its turning around , I move him on draft night.

[Proven_Winner]

Says he’s doesn’t care about stats but then posts stats....

Preseason doesn’t matter yet you’re judging him off just that....

3rd year player... forgets this is the start of his 3rd year.....

This slightly makes me glad Gar/Pax are our GMs because it could be worse.

I’m happy too

Many guys who are top in the league were not thought of as great players entering their 3rd year.

This is all noise...

Yup still got screenshots of people here only a few months ago trashing Zach acting like he could never get better and that he was a low IQ player. 4 preseason games later a lot of his haters riding him now and now switched to Lauri. I don’t get how we haven’t understood that everyone grows different. Lauri is only 22 he still has more than enough time to grow that’s been proven already by his teammate.

[ZOMG]

The big problem with any Markkanen trade fantasy is that there would be a very high probability of the Bulls shooting themselves in the foot. As ever.

Even with all the well-documented holes in Lauri's game, I'm pretty sure that most of his problems are mental right now and can be traced back to decisions made by his own club. Particularly his weird non-role in the offense, which is something that started rearing its ugly head right after his rookie season and only temporarily went away last February with known results.

I'm afraid the Bulls, disappointed with Lauri's lackluster performances lately, could be suckered into some deal where they wouldn't get back nearly equal value, only to see Markkanen immediately start thriving on some other team that uses him as something more than a floor spacer / decoy.

I dunno. Maybe it's inevitable that on this team, Lauri will never regain the aggressiveness he showed in his rookie season. Too much has changed around him and the balance of power has shifted on the court. In that case he might want to go elsewhere. We'll be a lot wiser after this season.

I still tend to think that Zach and Lauri are an awkward pair. Zach can play with Lauri since he doesn't have to modify his own game, but Lauri has always had trouble playing with Zach. He would probably have the same problem with any ball-dominant, high usage scoring guard.

[Hold That]

Either for an elite big or wing otherwise I wouldn’t move him.

[jacoby1us]

Bulls better not trade Lauri.

[transplant]

Bulls needs to start seriously consider what to do with Lauri Markkanen
if 4 points 11 rebounds 1 assist and 1 steal is all what he has to offer for this Bulls team.

This thread comes down to this.

It's ridiculous.

He's played 2 seasons in the NBA and has been very productive despite several injuries.

If at midseason he's only averaging 4 ppg, let's talk again.

[Indomitable]

Says he’s doesn’t care about stats but then posts stats....

Preseason doesn’t matter yet you’re judging him off just that....

3rd year player... forgets this is the start of his 3rd year.....

This slightly makes me glad Gar/Pax are our GMs because it could be worse.

I’m happy too

Many guys who are top in the league were not thought of as great players entering their 3rd year.

This is all noise...

Yup still got screenshots of people here only a few months ago trashing Zach acting like he could never get better and that he was a low IQ player. 4 preseason games later a lot of his haters riding him now and now switched to Lauri. I don’t get how we haven’t understood that everyone grows different. Lauri is only 22 he still has more than enough time to grow that’s been proven already by his teammate.

Keep the screen shots because the moment they have a window the Zachhaters will be back.

[sco]

These are fun discussions, but it's impossible to make a good answer unless you know:

1) Who could we get in return? Giannis, sure. AD, ok. Bobby Portis, no.

2) What will need to pay him to keep him? It gets sorta circular. If he's great, he'll get the max. If he's Lauri from last season (not just Feb), he'll get maybe $18-$20 per year.