Chicago Bulls: 3 Lauri Markkanen pre-deadline trades

3) Chicago Bulls pre-deadline trades involving Markkanen

The most controversial, but also possibly the least consequential, trade package that is on this list as a hypothetical for Karnisovas and the Bulls to dish out Markkanen by the time the deadline arrives this season lies right here with their Central Division rival. The Cleveland Cavaliers still have a lot of change that is about to transpire within their organization in the near future.

It’s really difficult to figure out where the Cavaliers rebuild is headed right now, as it has been since the departure of the future Hall-of-Famer and all-time great forward LeBron James a few years back. The Cavaliers got off to a decent start this season, but that momentum largely died off in the last couple of weeks.

And in this particular trade deal, the Bulls just ship off Markkanen as he is in the final year of his rookie contract. In return, they get the duo of talented young point guard Collin Sexton and the recently controversial Kevin Porter Jr. With the Cavaliers reportedly looking to trade the former USC Trojans shooting guard/wing KPJ already, it could be the right time for the Bulls to get him a needed change of scenery.

Sexton is clearly having a much improved campaign thus far, as he’s registered a 2.8 box plus/minus rating while averaging more than 25 points per game and shooting better than 51 percent from beyond the arc. And if KPJ can get his issues resolved off the court, he still brings a lot of two-way potential to the table if he were to right the ship soon.