Lauri Markkanen gets sent to the Spurs in this three-team trade
This particular trade deal has a lot going on in it. It sees a third team get involved to make it all work in the end. The San Antonio Spurs has previously expressed interest in the Bulls fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen. As Markkanen is about to hit the restricted free agent market this summer, this could make for an intriguing sign-and-trade possibility.
Markkanen gets shipped off along with Sato from Chicago to San Antonio in this player swap. The Spurs do have to ship off some key pieces of their own to make this happen. They send off the former Florida State Seminoles standout shooting guard and 2020 lottery draft pick Devin Vassell to the Wizards. And the Wizards have to send the second-year former Bulls center Daniel Gafford to the Spurs.
The main team that is getting a lot of players and draft capital in this trade deal is the Wizards. From the Spurs, they are getting a lottery-protected future first-round draft pick, along with Vassell. And from the Bulls, they are getting the 2022 second-round draft pick, White, Young, and veteran forward Al-Farouq Aminu.
Really all that the Wizards are sending off here is a player they just got from the Bulls in Gafford, and then the star guard Beal. There’s a lot that the Wizards can build off of here, which should appeal to their front office and head coach Scott Brooks.
Getting a third team involved might have to be the scenario that plays out if the Bulls are to have a realistic shot at trading for Beal from the Wizards.