3) Beneficial landing spots for Chicago Bulls PF Lauri Markkanen: Dallas Mavericks
If the Bulls were going to ship off a key piece of their young core like Markkanen, then it would be good for them to find a landing spot for him where he could get a potential much-needed change of scenery. Things obviously didn’t go well for Markkanen in his third year in the NBA with the Bulls. And maybe that potential change of scenery could be with head coach Rick Carlisle and the Dallas Mavericks.
What the Mavericks would be getting out of a young and still very talented player like the seven-footer Markkanen is a very versatile big man. Markkanen played in 50 games during the shortened 2019-20 regular season (starting in all of them). He averaged 14.7 points per game, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks.
Markkanen shot 42.5 percent from the field, 34.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 82.4 percent from the free-throw line.
Landing with the Mavericks does seem like the perfect move that could vault the game of Markkanen heading into the final year of his rookie contract. He would be a low-cost option for the Mavericks compared to what they had to do to get fellow seven-footer and big man Kristaps Porzingis from the New York Knicks last year.
The thought of what the Mavs would get with Markkanen playing alongside Porzingis and the First-Team All-NBA Team selection and superstar point guard Luka Doncic is pretty mind-boggling. As long as Porzingis can stay healthy for the most part for the next few years, then giving the Mavs a big third piece could help bring them to the forefront among contenders in the Western Conference for a long time.