Why did the Chicago Bulls trade Lauri Markkanen?

The Cavaliers agreed to acquire Markkanen, a restricted free agent forward from Chicago in a three-way trade that sends forward Larry Nance Jr. from Cleveland to Portland.

The Bulls are getting swingman Derrick Jones Jr. from the Trail Blazers along with a lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick.

Lauri Elias Markkanen, a Finnish professional basketball player was born 22 May,1997 in Vantaa, Finland.

Lauri plays the small forward and power forward roles for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He was selected seventh overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2017 NBA draft before being traded to the Chicago Bulls for Jimmy Butler.

He is a son of parents who are former basketball players.

Career

Prior to the 2016–17 season, Markkanen verbally committed to the NCAA Division I Arizona Wildcats.

Previously Markkanen played for HBA-Märsky in the Finnish second-tier league from 2014 to 2016.

SB Nation regarded him as “the best shooting 7-footer college basketball has ever seen”.

On the 12th of January, he scored a career-high 30 points against Arizona State.

Three times against Northern Colorado, Washington State, and Washington, he had a career-high 13 rebounds.

Markkanen revealed his desire to forego his final three years of collegiate eligibility and join the 2017 NBA draft at the end of his freshman season.

The Minnesota Timberwolves selected Markkanen with the seventh pick in the first round of the 2017 NBA draft.

His rights were transferred to the Chicago Bulls along with Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn on draft night for Jimmy Butler and Justin Patton’s rights.

Markkanen made a tremendous effort in his rookie season being both an offensive and defensive gem for the Bulls.

His bright efforts earned him a spot into the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

He finished his rookie season as the Bulls’ leading rebounder with 7.5 and fourth in scoring with 15.2, with 14 double-doubles, trailing just Kyle Kuzma and Ben Simmons among rookies.

Following testing for his health issues, Markkanen was ruled out for the remainder of the season in 2018-19 season.

Markkanen was acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-team sign-and-trade that also included the Portland Trail Blazers on August 28, 2021.

Lauri has the NBA record for being the fastest player to reach 100 career 3-pointers (41 games).

Contract

He signed a four-year deal worth $67 million with Cleveland.

What does Verna Aho mean to Markkanen?

The beauty is the wife of Lauri, the two got married in 2017.

The two began dating in their high school.

His Player stats

Regular season stats