Chicago Bulls sign-and-trades with Lauri Markkanen: Minnesota Timberwolves
Bulls Recieve: Jarrett Culver, 2023 (Top-3 Protected) First Round Pick
Timberwolves Recieve: Lauri Markkanen
First is a deal that would see Markkanen go back to the team he was originally going to be playing for in Minnesota. From a positional standpoint, this deal makes sense for the Wolves, as they’ve been tinkering all season in attempting to find a four that can play next to Karl-Anthony Towns. Markkanen can potentially be that guy for them moving forward.
The Bulls get back a young guard in the former Texas Tech Red Raider Jarrett Culver who seems to have fallen out of favor in the Wolves system after being picked sixth in the 2019 NBA Draft.
He could potentially be the defensive guard Bulls fans have been longing for since the departure of Kris Dunn and has shown flashes of competent ball-handling ability, potentially being able to play alongside Zach LaVine as a result of this.
Finally, this deal gives the Bulls a first-round pick in 2023, to potentially compensate for the loss of one as a result of the Nikola Vucevic deal in March. While this deal is not by means perfect, it represents the type of value Markkanen posses on the market as someone who has had a poor season.