New potential destinations are emerging for the fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen off of the restricted free agent market this summer. And multiple Bulls rumors connect what seems like half of the teams around the NBA landscape to Markkanen entering the offseason. It’s only a matter of time before we truly figure out what Markkanen’s fate will be this summer.
What does seem likely is for multiple teams to try to top the offer sheet of Markkanen. While there’s certainly still a chance that the Bulls remain a contender to sign Markkanen, it seems more likely that he leaves. The Bulls didn’t even have Markkanen in the starting five down the stretch this season.
That was really the first time in Markkanen’s career that he was a regular in a reserve role. Despite mostly coming off the bench for first-year head coach Billy Donovan post-trade deadline, Markkanen still started in more games than he was a reserve. That means he is set to get starter-level money at a minimum this offseason.
Bulls rumors now connecting Lauri Markkanen and the Dallas Mavericks
One team that is apparently jumping into the mix among teams that could pursue Markkanen in restricted free agency this summer is the Dallas Mavericks. According to a report from Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times on May 22, two teams to watch in pursuit of Markkanen this offseason are the Mavericks and New York Knicks.
The Mavericks reportedly like the idea of slotting Markkanen in a budding trio alongside forward Kristaps Porzingis and superstar point guard Luka Doncic. One way that the Bulls can maximize the value they get out of Markkanen before letting him walk for nothing this offseason is forming a sign-and-trade deal with the Mavericks. Here’s a look into three ways that could get done.
Chicago Bulls sign-and-trade deals to send Lauri Markkanen to the Mavs
The first trade deal up here hinges on the idea that the former Philadelphia 76ers two-way shooting guard Josh Richardson doesn’t want to exercise his player option this offseason and wants to hit free agency. Since Richardson is facing a player option entering the summer, there’s a chance that the Mavericks won’t control where he lands next season.
But if a destination like Chicago sticks out to Richardson, and Dallas makes sense for Markkanen, then a sign-and-trade deal like this makes sense. To make it all work, the Bulls also ship off combo guard Tomas Satoransky with Markkanen to the Mavericks for a return of power forward Nico Melli and Richardson.
The main piece of the deal for the Bulls would be Richardson. Donovan and the Bulls would be able to improve their defense and bolster their overall depth in the backcourt rotation by getting Richardson to the Windy City. He would also bring some much-needed grit to the rotation that they don’t get out of the likes of Sato and second-year point guard Coby White.
The Mavericks got Melli and veteran shooting guard JJ Redick from the New Orleans Pelicans at the deadline, and they might be more willing to part ways with the former than the latter. Granted Redick is set to become a free agent himself this summer.
Getting this deal done pretty much hinges exclusively on how the process of Richardson determining his player option is going heading into the offseason. But it’s one possibility to note between the Bulls and Mavericks.
Chicago Bulls sign-and-trade deals to send Lauri Markkanen to the Mavs
Some big additions that head coach Rick Carlisle and the Mavericks could make to their rotation this offseason, if they’re serious about pursuing Markkanen, could come their way hypothetically in this particular trade deal. In this player swap, the Bulls ship off both Markkanen and veteran forward Thaddeus Young for a nice return from Dallas.
The Bulls would get underrated former Villanova Wildcats guard Jalen Brunson, underappreciated big man Dwight Powell, and Melli once again back from the Mavericks. There was a school of thought earlier this season in which the Mavericks could explore a Brunson trade depending on how he finished out the regular season.
Depending on what salary the Mavericks were able to get Markkanen for in this hypothetical sign-and-trade deal, the contracts could match up nicely between these two teams. None of the three players the Bulls would get here from the Mavericks have their contracts running up this offseason, so the roster could come together ahead of next season.
On the Mavericks side of this trade, getting two potential huge additions to the frontcourt rotation in Young and Markkanen would be really difficult to pass up. And the risk in trading for someone like Young would be low since he will be in the final year of his current contract next season. It could help them contender at a higher level out in the Western Conference.
Chicago Bulls sign-and-trade deals to send Lauri Markkanen to the Mavs
I will preempt before getting into the final trade on this list that the Bulls and Mavericks would have to find a way to match salaries between the likes of Markkanen and Melli. Getting another lower valued trade piece, or a third team involved to make this happen, is what might be needed.
Yet, the Bulls could really use some draft capital back after all that they dealt out to get Vucevic from the Orlando Magic at the trade deadline nearly two months ago. They gave up two first-round draft picks to the Magic along with third-year center Wendell Carter Jr. and veteran small forward Otto Porter Jr. to get Vucevic and veteran forward Al-Farouq Aminu from the Magic.
If there is a way to make the salary matching work out in the end, then the Bulls could get some future draft capital back on their hands for next year. This particular trade deal has the Bulls shipping off Markkanen for a lottery-protected 2022 first-round draft pick from the Mavericks.
At the moment, the Mavericks still own their original first-round draft pick for 2022. And if they were to add Markkanen by way of a sign-and-trade deal that already features Kristaps and Luka, it’s unlikely they would find themselves in the lottery next summer.
This is maybe the simplest way for the Bulls and Mavericks to get a sign-and-trade deal done to get Markkanen to Dallas.
Competition among multiple suitors to sign the offer sheet of Markkanen would play to the Bulls benefit if they were looking to get a trade deal done with the Mavericks this offseason.