Chicago Bulls: 3 realistic targets in a Lauri Markkanen sign-and-trade

The first year of the tenure of head coach Billy Donovan with the Chicago Bulls surely had its twists and turns. There were some Bulls players, like veteran forward Thaddeus Young and star shooting guard Zach LaVine,  that greatly benefited from the addition of Donovan as head coach.

On the other hand, others such as fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen, second-year point guard Coby White, combo guard Tomas Satoransky, etc. that didn’t make the strides that many fans were hoping for. Not to mention previous key pieces of the young core such as third-year center Wendell Carter Jr. and second-year center Daniel Gafford that were shipped off at the trade deadline.

The twists and turns of the regular season for the Bulls now turns into anticipation for what lies ahead this offseason. Executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley are preparing for what is sure to be an active offseason in Chicago this summer.

Lauri Markkanen continues on trade talks for the Chicago Bulls

To make the most of this offseason, the Bulls front office must make the right decisions namely with some impending free agents they have coming up. Key players such as Markkanen and center Daniel Theis are bound to become free agents this summer.

A particular focal point with the Bulls’ free agent decisions for the offseason is the potential of a sign-and-trade deal involving Markkanen. If the Bulls are going to see Markkanen off this offseason, they might as well get some level of value out of him before he goes.

Here’s a look into three actually realistic targets for a Markkanen sign-and-trade deal this offseason.