Chicago Bulls: 3 areas where Lauri Markkanen needs to improve the most

To-be fourth-year Chicago Bulls power forward Lauri Markkanen is about to enter the most decisive offseason of his NBA career to date.

Posting his least efficient and productive season in his NBA career to date was not what former Arizona Wildcats seven-footer and power forward Lauri Markkanen had to have in mind for his third year in the league. Markkanen was supposed to make some big strides in his third year in the NBA, but he didn’t do anything of the sort and the Chicago Bulls continued to flounder in the midst of a collapsing rebuild.

Markkanen’s third year in the NBA didn’t do much of anything to help the Bulls in the third year of the rebuild. The Bulls rounded up with a record of 22-43 through 65 games prior to the novel coronavirus pandemic prematurely ending their season back in mid-March. They will not be playing in the NBA’s 22-team restart plan at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL, with games planned to start on July 31.

During the 2019-20 regular season, Markkanen played in 50 games (starting in every single one of them). He did show he could be more durable than he was in the last two years. But he still experienced an abundance of injury issues that would set him back during the second half of the regular season. An ankle and pelvic injury held him back since the turn of the calendar year.

This offseason, Markkanen was looking to have an opportunity to get a sizable contract extension. He will be entering the final year of his rookie contract next season, so this was a bad time for his play on the court to falter. But the Bulls might still see what he brings to the table for one more year before deciding his future in the Windy City.

For his future to look brighter with the Bulls, here’s three significant areas that Markkanen will have to improve his game.