RealGM

Can he?
Maybe he can with a new , better coach.
https://theathletic.com/2100281/2020/09/28/i-can-make-the-comeback-lauri-markkanen-vows-to-bounce-back-from-down-season?source=user-shared-article

He certainly can be better, because we've seen him be better. Lauri has two big problems:

1.) He's one of the least assertive players I've ever seen. He needs to start demanding the ball and playing aggressively.

2.) For someone who seems like he's in great shape, his conditioning is always poor and he has yet to add a single new dimension to his game.

Got burned by Lauri last year but what I predicted for year 3 is what he can/should put up in year 4. Last year it was seeing Lauri's floor when used as a spacing threat

He teased me in the first game last season. If he can just average what he did in that game I'll be a happy camper.

Put up 20/10 Lauri. Do it. You can. Contract year too.

IliketheBullsNBearstoo wrote:He teased me in the first game last season. If he can just average what he did in that game I'll be a happy camper.

Lmao everyone would be a very happy camper if Lauri averaged 35/17/2 for a season. He'd be an MVP.

The crazy thing about that game was he shot 1/7 from 3. Usually his high scoring games came when hitting multiple 3s. If he hit his career average he'd be at 40+ ppg.

SfBull wrote:Can he?
Maybe he can with a new , better coach.
https://theathletic.com/2100281/2020/09/28/i-can-make-the-comeback-lauri-markkanen-vows-to-bounce-back-from-down-season?source=user-shared-article

He most certainly can. He only has to produce on daily basis what he's produced periodically in a time span of 1-2 months and his numbers will be massive. Hopefully this season they don't force him to play with an injury, that was a big mistake last season.

I agree with some that hopefully he's worked on the right things prior the season opener. He's no finished product yet.

Honestly, just not getting injured and learning to shoot over guards would move him from a 4th quartile starter to a 2nd quartile starter, IMO.

I'd very much like to bring back my old Markkanen avatar if we get the version of Lauri that was fun as all hell to watch. Pretty skeptical, but nonetheless I expect a comeback season for him. I'd like to think that last season's version was a perfect storm of nagging injury and Boylenizing, and won't be returning. Stay healthy, big guy.

He cannot score 1 on 1 nor has a decent handle. Maybe 2nd contract with chicago he'll be better

Lauri situation scares the hell out of me. Its a good chance he can bounce back especially with a good coach that involves him more in the offense. Issue is it's a contract year and I fear him having a big year getting offered a ton of dough from some other team we forced to match then he goes back to his lethargic play and poor conditioning.

It's why I still feel the best move is to move him in this years draft for an asset. I fear he will be a contract we regret. Not to mention by moving on from him we can position ourselves to the 2 max plan for next off season.

Yea boylen ruined him last season but he had time under hoiberg as well and I've seen enough from him to know he is not worth the long term investment. It would be a contract we would soon regret and end up trading anyway

I’m just not sold on this dude, and never was. Even during his rookie year, I chalk up the success to teams not having scouted for him.

His feet are molasses-slow. It’s cringey watching him try & handle the ball/drive. His defense will likely never be competent due to his non-existent lateral speed & paltry wingspan. He’s just too slow. I can’t count how many times I watched him get stuffed last season, it was brutal & embarrassing. Literally everything he does is enormously telegraphed, even a lament can see it coming from a mile away. His ball fakes & crossover attempts are laughably telegraphed, it’s like he’s moving in slow motion out there

The Nowitzki (or even the KVH) comparisons should really be revisited & laughed at pretty soon. This guy has nothing in common with Dirk. Markkanen makes Nowitzki look like Cobi White in the foot speed department. Dirk could handle the ball like a guard & take it coast to coast through traffic, he was insanely agile & speedy for a dude that large. Markkanen doesn’t have any of that going for him, and never did

I’d really love to be proven wrong, but I really see this dude as more of a Ryan Anderson-on-juice type of a prospect. Which there is obviously absolutely nothing wrong with, that’s still a really good player, but it’s a role player. I just don’t see how Markkanen ever becomes a cornerstone type player with how slow he is. He doesn’t have any elite skills either

I see him having his best years in his late 20s/early 30s, after countless trial & error, and I see it being a very brief “prime”. I also see him as a prime candidate to return to Europe eventually, if he doesn’t wind up in a more chill/less intense/low pressure environment, like Phoenix or something. The NBA grind seems to be brutal on him in particular, and the pressure in Chicago is sky high

Again though, would really really love to be proven wrong

I think he can be better than last year obviously. We've already seen him be better than last year.

I don't think he has likely star potential though. Theoretically, anyone can be a star if they learn to shoot well enough and so can Lauri, but he doesn't have any obvious clear sustained advantage that he's going to bring night in and night out that can't be taken away with good defensive attention.

Could he be a 20/10 guy with okay defense and good but not elite efficiency? Perhaps. That guy is still really valuable and a hell of a lot more valuable than what we saw last year.

I don't see him as being a play maker, shot creator, gravity creator type though. He's not going to do much for you in isolation or be the core piece of what makes your offense go. He's a modern PF version of Luol Deng without the defense.

Of course he can be better, he was absolutely deplorable this season.

Although I've got doubts since he hasn't added anything to his game or perfected his existing skills since entering the league, he's just coasted.

FranchisePlayer wrote:

Hangtime84 wrote:He cannot score 1 on 1 nor has a decent handle.

Watch on YouTube

If he could play consistently like that he could be not only a solid starter but a star.

hope so, bad Lauri is a boring player to watch.

He was very Trubiskyesque last season. Defenders knew his weaknesses and they pounced.

We shall see if he's worked on his game. I'll just wait and see.

Another issue is even if he "comes back," will he play at least 80% of the season? His career has been injury prone to an extent so far.

IMO, Markkanen's a very talented player. I think he showed it in his first two seasons. You don't have to believe that the promise he showed will be what Markannen will deliver, but considering that his one off year coincided with having a truly awful head coach, we might want to give him some benefit of the doubt.