It’s become quite clear the Chicago Bulls will not be retaining forward Lauri Markkanen during the upcoming offseason. The seventh overall selection in the 2017 NBA Draft will be moving on to a new team where he will hopefully be able to thrive and grow in a way he no longer can with the Bulls.
With that being said, he will need to be replaced on the Bulls roster. Although he has disappointed this season, he has had a role and brings a skill set that has made him an important piece of the Bulls rotation this season.
Replacing him won’t be easy but will be wise as opposed to bringing him back at the contract he is expected to demand on the free-agent market this offseason. If teams are already interested in the Bulls big man, only more will be when free agency rolls around.
While matching his outside shooting ability in a replacement may be impossible, the Bulls can still replace him with a good shooter that does other things that the fourth-year forward does not. They can also do so at a cheaper price, leaving more money available for other areas of need.
That will be crucial for a team that has a multitude of holes to fill with the cap space they will have available. When Arturas Karnisovas made the decision to acquire Nikola Vucevic at the NBA trade deadline, this is the situation he put his team in.
That does not make it a bad situation. Many teams around the league would love to have two proven all-stars to build around. What it does require, though, is creativity in filling out the roster around those two.
A number of routes are expected to be explored in filling the holes on the team. The main one will obviously be free agency. These five players make sense as early targets to replace Lauri Markkanen on the team as a stretch big that can play alongside someone like Vooch, and most are capable of doing so more effectively than Markkanen at this point in his career.
Chicago Bulls offseason replacements for Lauri Markkanen: Frank Kaminsky
Frank Kaminsky is a former lottery draft pick that has established himself as an NBA role player. A big reason he holds value in the league is due to his ability to stretch the floor at his size.
The seven-foot big man is a career 35 percent shooter from behind the arc. He doesn’t have the same value as Markkanen from three, as Markkanen is still growing in that area and is much more of a spot-up knockdown threat.
Still, Kaminsky has the size to play the five for limited stretches and can also play alongside someone like Nikola Vucevic when needed. That ability makes him valuable to a team like the Bulls as it gives their big man ample room to operate down low.
Also, Kaminsky won’t demand the high dollar amount some of the other stretch bigs will. In addition to that, he may see the Bulls as the ideal landing spot moving forward even if it requires a small hometown discount. Kaminsky is from Lisle, Illinois.
If the Bulls are able to get Kaminsky on a team-friendly deal he may be the perfect candidate to replace Markkanen. The former Wisconsin Badger is currently suiting up for the Phoenix Suns, who sit atop the stacked Western Conference.
The experience he is gaining playing on a winner would obviously only add to the value he would bring the Chicago Bulls.
Chicago Bulls offseason replacements for Lauri Markkanen: Nemanja Bjelica
Nemanja Bjelica isn’t the same shooter as the rest of the players on this list but has still proven to be capable from the perimeter over the course of his NBA career. He has his ups and downs from behind the arc but is capable and willing to impact the game in other ways that make him an asset even when his shot isn’t falling.
His defense is essentially non-existent, meaning he would be brought in and could play a role similar to the one Markkanen has played off the bench since Vooch was added to the roster.
Prior to this season, Bjelica had three straight campaigns in which he shot over 40 percent from deep. That number over multiple seasons gives reason to believe he could refind his form and confidence from behind the arc.
Like Kaminsky, Bjelica might be able to be lured to Chicago on a team-friendly deal given his skillset. He is currently 32 years old, so isn’t expected to garner significant money over multiple seasons on the open market.
After spending a number of years on bad teams with the Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves before arriving in Miami this season, the forward may simply want to lock himself into multiple years on a good team.
If that is a priority for him in the offseason, the Bulls may have a strong pitch to make for his services. While not ideal to sign a player of his age for multiple seasons, the Bulls could certainly do so at the right number and make him a prominent part of their bench rotation for the upcoming seasons.
Chicago Bulls offseason replacements for Lauri Markkanen: Zach Collins
Like Lauri Markkanen, Zach Collins is a player who could be a bargain for his new team moving forward. Collins is dealing with an injury that may prevent him from playing a single game this season, though he could return for the playoffs for the Portland Trailblazers.
Regardless, this injury is not the first in Collins young NBA career and that may play a role in the type of deal he is able to secure in restricted free agency. It also opens up the possibility that the Trailblazers don’t extend him a qualifying offer.
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If that is the case, the Bulls might want to swoop in and see what the forward has. He was selected a few picks after Markkanen in the 2018 NBA Draft and if the price tag is significantly cheaper it is understandable why the Bulls would want to swap Markkanen out for Collins.
Collins has had limited production in his NBA career, which is understandable for a player who has played in just 154 career games so far. Still, the things that made him a lottery pick originally have not gone away and he could certainly be a better fit for the Bulls than Markkanen is.
The reason for that is because he is a much better rebounder and defender. That is an area of need for the Bulls and improving defense in the frontcourt would be a big step in building this team into a contender.
He is nowhere near the lights-out shooter that Lauri can be at times, but that sacrifice is worth it for Arturas Karnisovas and his staff. It is not like he is terrible as a shooter, he has shot 32.4 percent from three in his NBA career.
A slight increase in that number would all of a sudden make him a major asset to the Bulls compared to Markkanen. Granted this is assuming health, which is a big assumption at this point. He would only be a reasonable target for the Bulls on a one-year type prove-it deal that still leaves them with significant cap space to fill other major holes on their roster.
Chicago Bulls offseason replacements for Lauri Markkanen: Bobby Portis
Could a familiar face in Bobby Portis be the perfect replacement for Lauri Markkanen? He just might be, and it is all about the significant improvements he has made to his game since leaving the Bulls.
Those same improvements could be the reason he can’t return to the Bulls, though, as he might be playing himself right out of their price range in terms of what they can spend on the frontcourt with their other areas of need.
The improvements are in the form of his newfound success as a floor stretcher, exactly what Markkanen’s greatest strength is at this point. Portis was never a bad shooter and that is proven by his 35 percent three-point shooting as a member of the organization.
That came over four seasons on an average of two attempts per game. Not bad at all. Also, nothing near the performance he is putting on this season for the Milwaukee Bucks. With the Bucks, he is shooting 2.4 three-pointers per game and connecting on an absurd 47.9 percent of those.
Portis brings the attitude and swagger that helps make up for some of what he lacks on defense. He could fit with the Bulls core as either a starter next to Vooch or a sixth man coming off the bench getting minutes with either one of Vooch or Thaddeus Young on any given night.
Chicago Bulls offseason replacements for Lauri Markkanen: Kelly Olynyk
Kelly Olynyk could be the perfect candidate to replace Lauri Markkanen in the Chicago Bulls rotation if he is available at the right price. Determining that price tag right now is a bit difficult as Olynyk is currently balling out in an exaggerated role on the tanking Houston Rockets.
Still, it is well understood he won’t demand a crazy free-agent contract and that may put him in the range the Bulls could afford and know they are getting something more consistent and proven than Markkanen will give them. It would also not need to be the type of multi-year deal Markkanen would be expecting.
Realistically, Olynyk isn’t offering much more than Markkanen on defense or cleaning the glass, though slight upgrades in both areas are reasonable to expect. Where he would help the Bulls most is financially and by being a more consistent version of a very similar offensive player.
While similar offensively, Olynyk has proven much more capable and willing to get his offense going even if it is not through three-point shots. That has been an area of frustration for Markkanen all season as he continues to see himself make an impact from behind the arc or make no impact at all on a per-game basis.
At 30 years old, Olynyk could be brought in and be a foundational piece for the Bulls bench unit in the coming seasons. He has experience on teams that are bad, good and elite. That type of experience and knowledge would be a welcome addition to the team’s stable of veterans that already includes Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine, who have yet to play for an elite NBA team.
Although Olynyk would be playing a much lesser role, obviously, it always helps to have players who have been there before and experienced locker rooms that have had significant success. Olynyk experienced exactly that as a member of the Miami Heat team that made an NBA Finals run during the bubble in Orlando, Florida.
It was on that run that he also showed he is a professional and could be relied on to not overreact to being in or out of the rotation given the team’s circumstances. The Heat relied on him significantly at times during that run as well as barely at all at other times. Olynyk never had an issue with that and demonstrated he is a professional in the locker room.
That can never be overlooked in the NBA. Especially for the Bulls who have young players like Coby White and Patrick Williams that are growing as players in the league.