Bulls Rumors: 3 Mavs players to get in Lauri Markkanen sign-and-trade

Lauri Markkanen sign-and-trade targets from the Mavs: Maxi Kleber

Some of the big men on the Mavs roster stick out as potential sign-and-trade targets for the Bulls if Markkanen winds up landing in Dallas. One of those is the 6-foot-10 and 240-pound German power forward Maxi Kleber. The Mavs are also pretty deep in the frontcourt unit, which could lead them to use Kleber as a player asset in trade talks.

Despite the Bulls adding the likes of rookie big man Marko Simonovic and former Oklahoma City Thunder center Tony Bradley to the roster this offseason, there’s still some room in the frontcourt unit. The Bulls will see the likes of Markkanen, big man Cristiano Felicio, and center Daniel Theis, all leave Chicago this summer.

This really all depends on how much the Mavs value Markkanen. If new Mavs head coach Jason Kidd sees a nice fit with Markkanen in his rotation and values him more than Kleber, then this could be a very viable move for all parties involved.

In terms of salary matching, this move also makes a lot of sense for the Bulls and Mavs. Markkanen is likely looking at a contract that pays him an average annual value of around $10-$12 million. And Kleber is set to get around $9 million in the final year of his current contract next season. That could work out for the Bulls and Mavs in this hypothetical trade.

Kleber could be a power forward that the Bulls use at the four likely behind either forward Patrick Williams or newly acquired star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan (really whoever starts at the four) next season.