Chicago Bulls: 4 reasons Kevin Love trade foundation worth building

2. Help for Lauri Markkanen

An unknown factor that could dictate the trade market strategy for the Bulls this summer is the contract situation with veteran center Robin Lopez. If the Bulls elect to bring Lopez back for a few more seasons, it reduces the need to bring in another big that can relieve some of the pressure on the shoulders of Carter Jr. and Markkanen.

Yet, this cap situation for the Bulls this off-season makes it seem like bringing Lopez back might not be the ideal solution for the frontcourt. Lopez came up huge down the stretch for the Bulls and could help improve the development of the two young and promising bigs this franchise is buying into for the long haul.

The idea of keeping Lopez around in the Windy City does look like it would benefit the development of Carter Jr. more so than Markkanen, though. Markkanen is also more significant to the long term success plans for the Bulls than Carter Jr. Talents and measurables like Markkanen are just too valuable in today’s NBA.

But, a lot of the shortcomings in Markkanen’s game at the moment could steady out with the presence of someone like Kevin Love in the locker room. The starting five could also get a ton of added versatility with a solid shooter and rebounder that spaces the floor and crashes the boards with the ferocity of Love. He could help Markkanen learn a lot in the next few years.