Lauri Markkanen hasn’t become the star the Chicago Bulls could have expected him to be when they landed him in the Jimmy Butler trade. Though the Finnish big man has proven to be a valuable piece for his team, he wants to do more.
Given that the Bulls have a big duo in Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, the 24-year-old has reportedly shared his intention of leaving the organization. So where he’d like to go? According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Dallas Mavericks would be his preferred destination.
The one place he privately wants to land is with the Mavericks, joining guard Luka Doncic and big man Kristaps Porzingis. The Mavericks will have serious cap room this offseason and were in the middle of the pack in three-point shooting, but Markkanen and Porzingis might be too similar in terms of their skills for that to happen.
So which other team might be interested in Markkanen? Keep an eye on the Knicks, who will have the most cap room of any team and can use more shooting.
It’s not a secret that when he entered the league, Lauri was compared to Kristaps Porzingis so having two players with the same characteristics, who will demand serious money, doesn’t seem like a good option for them.
Markkanen wants to show he’s ready to become a big name in the league, but going to Dallas might not be the best option for him. Perhaps the Knicks won’t be too interested in his services, either, so it’ll be interesting to watch how this saga develops for the big man. This season, he averaged 13.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game, while shooting for 40.2% from beyond the arc.
