3. Trade Thad Young
The Chicago Bulls advertised that their thought process in acquiring Thad Young was to bring in a strong rebounder and defender who can play a leadership role and provide toughness. It made sense that Thad would lead the second unit and push Markkanen to become a better player.
There was also a thought that the Bulls could play Thad together with Lauri. That has not proven to be the case, at no fault of Thad. Markkanen simply is not dependable as a center.
Thad’s desire for more playing time is no longer a secret. He is well under the average minutes per game he saw during his time as a starter with Indiana. In spite of whatever we thought we knew when Thad was signed, today we know:
Lauri cannot play center.
Thad cannot play small forward. If he could, then why isn’t he?
The Bulls essentially have two starting power forwards.
We have Thad under a three-year contract that young teams in contention may welcome.
Lauri is limited as strictly a power forward and needs to be developed as such.
Lauri’s contract is under control through the 2021-22 season and it makes sense to still develop his potential.
Markkanen and the first unit as a whole has been out of sync all season. The glaring hole at starting small forward has not helped. Management should definitely be putting at the top of their holiday list for next season a true starting point guard, a small forward and defensive rebounding. Every move from this point forward should be with those three goals in mind.