Chicago Bulls: 3 players that could want out of Jim Boylen returns

2. Lauri Markkanen, Power Forward

Not much worse happened for any key part of the Bulls young core during the 2019-20 regular season in terms of taking a step back than with third-year former Arizona Wildcats power forward Lauri Markkanen. Legitimate expectations existed that Markkanen could take a big leap to stardom this season.

Nothing of the sort actually transpired for him.

Figuring out what went wrong for Markkanen during the 2019-20 campaign is a challenging feat. This is not all blame that is fair to place on Boylen’s shoulders. Continuing injury issues, inconsistent shooting rhythm, and shaky confidence as the ball handler, are problems that could stem from multiple sources for Markkanen.

He played in 50 games in the season that was for the Bulls (starting in all of them). Markkanen averaged 14.7 points per game, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks. And he did that while shooting 42.5 percent from the field, 34.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 82.4 percent from the free-throw line.

Although Markkanen posted career-lows in pretty much every major stat category in the season that was, he still managed to somehow register a career high in win shares per 48 minutes (.084). But there’s still a long way to go for Markkanen. The goal for him next season should be to contend for the Comeback Player of the Year honors.