A lot of the buzz surrounding Bulls rumors at the moment has to do with a potential sign-and-trade deal forming around fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen. Chicago’s front office was very busy at the outset of the free agency negotiation window last week, but it had to slow down at some point.
Nonetheless, the activity surrounding the seven-footer and restricted free agent big man Markkanen is something that still dominates the headlines more than one week after the start of the negotiation window. We’re also more than three days away from when the official signing window started in free agency last week.
It was hard to see Markkanen still available in restricted free agency so deep into this cycle of negotiations. The market for Markkanen dried up very fast. But there are now some teams that are looking into signing Markkanen out of restricted free agency this week.
Three of the teams that are now interested in Markkanen are the Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, and Minnesota Timberwolves. Those three teams showed interest at various points of the past six months in Markkanen.
Bulls rumors have the Mavs interested in Lauri Markkanen
One of the more recent teams this week to show interest in Markkanen is the Mavericks. Undergoing a major shift within their own ranks, the Mavs could find an interesting free agent target out of the former Arizona Wildcat.
The idea of what the Mavs could do with a combination of superstar point guard Luka Doncic and Lauri could be intriguing. But this possibility of the Mavs getting Markkanen from the Bulls would likely involve a sign-and-trade deal.
If that is the case, which particular players could the Bulls look to get in return from the Mavs for Markkanen?