Lauri Markkanen Discussion Thread

[suursahuri]

Plenty of bad players in the league have had some great games once in a while.

Lauri has had every opportunities to prove himself and has failed to do so. Now he's the fourth big in the rotation. Doesn't hurt our chances to win, but doesn't really improve the chances either. Bulls have moved on and there's no turning back.

Lauri will have new opportunities elsewhere. But it's possible he won't receive a fat contract offer and might have to sign a short term contract next summer.

He should hire a new coach, something similar to P3 for performance training and also a new skills coach. He needs to try something new to reach his potential. Unfortunately he'll be a free agent and free agents don't usually train hard because of injury risks.

I don't think he'll ever be an all star, but he'll stick in the league. Hell, even Anthony Tolliver has had a 12 year and running NBA career.

[ZOMG]

I generally don't think Markkanen cares about basketball. The fact that it seems he's regressed every year since his rookie season shows this.

I won't miss these absurd takes when Lauri leaves.

[erlim]

He’s either just doesn’t possess the skills required on the court in the league, or he’s just extremely affected seeing the writing is on the wall post trade deadline. I suspect it’s the later, which is even worse. He rejected the extension to bet on himself, to prove he’s can be a reliable lynchpin in this or any other team’s offense. He’s been given the opportunity to do that in a variety of different positions and strategies, and ultimately he is failing himself in a contract season.

The fact that the board has kind of thrust our success and failure on Lauri’s shoulder is a bit ridiculous though. First, beyond Coby’s error-filled guard play, we really have Patrick Williams giving nothing. A lot of our team frustratingly just can’t seem to provide any on court positives with the team’s cornerstones, Zach and Vuce. I mean, when I’ve read suggestions that we try and pry Nikola Mirotic from his happy career with FC Barcelona, it makes my head spin. Another finesse perimeter big who we just vomited hate on night after night for not being able to post smaller guys, find a consistent stroke, or be that Deng-like reliable third scorer. And now people are saying trade Zach? Yeah we’ve been there before. We are living that now. Isn’t it grand?

[ZOMG]

It's somehow fitting for this season that Markkanen is suddenly the one guy on the Bulls who has hope for the future.

If I was a dude tied to the Bulls on a multiyear deal - leaving aside the fact that I'm a millionaire - I'd be straight up depressed right now.

Read on Twitter

[GoBlue72391]

It's somehow fitting for this season that Markkanen is suddenly the one guy on the Bulls who has hope for the future.

If I was a dude tied to the Bulls on a multiyear deal - leaving aside the fact that I'm a millionaire - I'd be straight up depressed right now.

Read on Twitter

If he does go to the Spurs I would not be surprised at all if Pop actually does turn him into the reincarnation of Dirk.

[Pentele]

It's somehow fitting for this season that Markkanen is suddenly the one guy on the Bulls who has hope for the future.

If I was a dude tied to the Bulls on a multiyear deal - leaving aside the fact that I'm a millionaire - I'd be straight up depressed right now.

Read on Twitter

If he does go to the Spurs I would not be surprised at all if Pop actually does turn him into the reincarnation of Dirk.

Lauri is still young; it could do wonders for him to be part of a team that almost certainly "plays the right way". I think it is clear that Lauri is team-oriented rather than individialistic guy, and thus the Spurs would definitely be one of the better landing spots for him.

[Jstock12]

It's somehow fitting for this season that Markkanen is suddenly the one guy on the Bulls who has hope for the future.

If I was a dude tied to the Bulls on a multiyear deal - leaving aside the fact that I'm a millionaire - I'd be straight up depressed right now.

Read on Twitter

If he does go to the Spurs I would not be surprised at all if Pop actually does turn him into the reincarnation of Dirk.

Lauri is still young; it could do wonders for him to be part of a team that almost certainly "plays the right way". I think it is clear that Lauri is team-oriented rather than individialistic guy, and thus the Spurs would definitely be one of the better landing spots for him.

Jakob Poeltl is a fantastic fit with Lauri. Poeltl has been a better rim protector than even Gobert this year (yep, sounds crazy). I hope this Vanilla Towers project comes to fruition if Lauri really decides he doesn't want any part of the Bulls anymore.

[ZOMG]

If he does go to the Spurs I would not be surprised at all if Pop actually does turn him into the reincarnation of Dirk.

Lauri is still young; it could do wonders for him to be part of a team that almost certainly "plays the right way". I think it is clear that Lauri is team-oriented rather than individialistic guy, and thus the Spurs would definitely be one of the better landing spots for him.

Jakob Poeltl is a fantastic fit with Lauri. Poeltl has been a better rim protector than even Gobert this year (yep, sounds crazy). I hope this Vanilla Towers project comes to fruition if Lauri really decides he doesn't want any part of the Bulls anymore.

Poeltl is one of the most underrated players in the entire league. You don't play major minutes for Pop at that position if you don't know what you're doing.

He's huge, long, smart, plays hard and can pass the ball. It takes a special player to be that effective with zero athleticism or shooting.

[Jstock12]

Lauri is still young; it could do wonders for him to be part of a team that almost certainly "plays the right way". I think it is clear that Lauri is team-oriented rather than individialistic guy, and thus the Spurs would definitely be one of the better landing spots for him.

Jakob Poeltl is a fantastic fit with Lauri. Poeltl has been a better rim protector than even Gobert this year (yep, sounds crazy). I hope this Vanilla Towers project comes to fruition if Lauri really decides he doesn't want any part of the Bulls anymore.

Poeltl is one of the most underrated players in the entire league. You don't play major minutes for Pop at that position if you don't know what you're doing.

He's huge, long, smart, plays hard and can pass the ball. It takes a special player to be that effective with zero athleticism or shooting.

Oh Poeltl is actually quite athletic. He's got great footwork and speed to cover the PnR effectively. Combine that with his timing when blocking shots and you have a great guy to cover for Lauri's defensive woes.

[MGB8]

A Lauri for Derozan sign and trade could work (because San Antonio is so far under the cap) and might make sense for both teams (for San Antonio, more as a favor to agent / player / "player-friendly" reputation move).

Lauri could fit into what San Antonio is building, including timeframe.

Meanwhile, Derozan has become quite a distributor and would bring a down-hill, attacking game that the Bulls really lack. At this point he's more a shorter combo-forward as opposed to a 3, so Pat "slides over" to the "4" but really it's just them together as combo forwards -- and Derozan's offensive aggression would make up for some of Pat's seeming passivity.

[chefo]

Poetl is an alternate universe twin of our beloved Turkish Hammer Asik, except a healthy one so far.

Even going back to the Raps, dude was an absolute defensive stud. Dude is a legit 7'+ tall barefoot (or ~7'1 to 7'2 in shoes) with a 9'4 standing reach and is very agile for a dude so tall. Can't bully him, difficult to shoot over him, knows what he's doing and rotates exceptionally well.

It helped that he has played on 2 great franchises like the Raps and Spurs, so he did not have to live through 3-4 years of wasted development because his coaches are dimwits.

On O, can't make a FT to save his life, but passes well and has a nice touch around the rim.

I would have loved to have a player like him on the Bulls.

[sco]

Jakob Poeltl is a fantastic fit with Lauri. Poeltl has been a better rim protector than even Gobert this year (yep, sounds crazy). I hope this Vanilla Towers project comes to fruition if Lauri really decides he doesn't want any part of the Bulls anymore.

Poeltl is one of the most underrated players in the entire league. You don't play major minutes for Pop at that position if you don't know what you're doing.

He's huge, long, smart, plays hard and can pass the ball. It takes a special player to be that effective with zero athleticism or shooting.

Oh Poeltl is actually quite athletic. He's got great footwork and speed to cover the PnR effectively. Combine that with his timing when blocking shots and you have a great guy to cover for Lauri's defensive woes.

Meh, Poetl (and many other C's who don't shoot much and can rim protect) will make Lauri look better because (unlike the evil Vuc, and by extension the evil Bulls) there will be plays run and more shots for Lauri when he goes to a "smarter" team.

[Pentele]

Poeltl is one of the most underrated players in the entire league. You don't play major minutes for Pop at that position if you don't know what you're doing.

He's huge, long, smart, plays hard and can pass the ball. It takes a special player to be that effective with zero athleticism or shooting.

Oh Poeltl is actually quite athletic. He's got great footwork and speed to cover the PnR effectively. Combine that with his timing when blocking shots and you have a great guy to cover for Lauri's defensive woes.

Meh, Poetl (and many other C's who don't shoot much and can rim protect) will make Lauri look better because (unlike the evil Vuc, and by extension the evil Bulls) there will be plays run and more shots for Lauri when he goes to a "smarter" team.

Oh God this forum has become insufferable... There is a new substantive discussion on Lauri going on for a change, and immediately there is someone stirring s***.

[qianlong]

It's somehow fitting for this season that Markkanen is suddenly the one guy on the Bulls who has hope for the future.

If I was a dude tied to the Bulls on a multiyear deal - leaving aside the fact that I'm a millionaire - I'd be straight up depressed right now.

Read on Twitter

If he does go to the Spurs I would not be surprised at all if Pop actually does turn him into the reincarnation of Dirk.

I don't expect Dirk but I believe he will flourish and we wills tart to complain of why he was mismanaged.
I don't like the idea of getting Derozan in return, but if the alternative is getting nothing we will take Derozan.

[sco]

Oh Poeltl is actually quite athletic. He's got great footwork and speed to cover the PnR effectively. Combine that with his timing when blocking shots and you have a great guy to cover for Lauri's defensive woes.

Meh, Poetl (and many other C's who don't shoot much and can rim protect) will make Lauri look better because (unlike the evil Vuc, and by extension the evil Bulls) there will be plays run and more shots for Lauri when he goes to a "smarter" team.

Oh God this forum has become insufferable... There is a new substantive discussion on Lauri going on for a change, and immediately there is someone stirring s***.

You know, you're right. Sorry to derail the convo.

So on a related point, how much do folks think he's gonna end up getting in a contract? Is it still $20M+ year?

[Louri]

I can't wait for that moment when Lauri will be officially gone from this team. This forum will be once again fun and beautiful place to write bright analyses. No more those Lauri-stans ruining everyone's mood. There will be lot's of love shared around like in Woodstock. Every disagreement will be solved with flowers, rather than neverending arguments about how good/bad that finnish Ivan Drago is. No more bad vibes, just positive feelings that our Batman Vucevic and his maxed out Robin Zach Lavine will bring next season. I will not miss those handful of posters that are playfully called Lauri Defense Forces here.

[FriedRise]

Some of the players we shipped out are now playing better on their new team.

Wendell:
10/8/2 on 51% shooting > 14/9/2 on 54% shooting

Gafford:
5/3 > 10/5

Kornet:
2/1 > 4/3/1.6 blocks per game
Significant jump in both OBPM and DBPM, and he's actually a shooting threat going 37% from deep.

All their respective teams have a higher winning % than the Bulls have since the trade deadline, including the Magic who literally sent us their best player and traded away their 2nd and 3rd best players.

I wouldn't be surprised if Lauri follows the same pattern on whatever team he ends up on. It's too bad we couldn't make it work here with him.

[FranchisePlayer]

I can't wait for that moment when Lauri will be officially gone from this team. This forum will be once again fun and beautiful place to write bright analyses. No more those Lauri-stans ruining everyone's mood. There will be lot's of love shared around like in Woodstock. Every disagreement will be solved with flowers, rather than neverending arguments about how good/bad that finnish Ivan Drago is. No more bad vibes, just positive feelings that our Batman Vucevic and his maxed out Robin Zach Lavine will bring next season. I will not miss those handful of posters that are playfully called Lauri Defense Forces here.

Those are some big words coming from a poster with a screen name "Louri" and who seems to have joined here right after Lauri was drafted. With all due respect, was that rant meant in green font?

Don't worry, those posters will come back here faster than you can say Jack Robinson when he finally achieves his true ceiling.

A thread of 100 pages worth of a bench player? I'm thinking not.

[FranchisePlayer]

I wouldn't be surprised if Lauri follows the same pattern on whatever team he ends up on. It's too bad we couldn't make it work here with him.

Which really does beg the question; why the same outcome with so many players? The list is very long.

And now it seems the last 3/4 of our 1st round picks will be gone very soon, replaced by low profile veterans. Do many other teams share the same feat or is this really uncommon? On paper, to me, it looks really awkward.

[sco]

I wouldn't be surprised if Lauri follows the same pattern on whatever team he ends up on. It's too bad we couldn't make it work here with him.

Which really does beg the question; why the same outcome with so many players? The list is very long.

And now it seems the last 3/4 of our 1st round picks will be gone very soon, replaced by low profile veterans. Do many other teams share the same feat or is this really uncommon? On paper, to me, it looks really awkward.

Good question. 1st round picks have a shelf-life before teams have to pay-up to keep them. If guys are great, the conversation is easier. If guys are NBA average, it depends on where salary expectations for the player are vs. alternate uses for that cap space. For bad players, the trick is trying to dump the guy while he'll get you something back that may turn into an a good player.

All the guys we traded are getting "tryouts" via bigger roles with their new teams, which often lead to better stats...at least for a while (see Hutch).