Now that the Chicago Bulls are officially moving on from Lauri Markkanen, the Cleveland Cavaliers could provide an ideal playing environment, enabling him to get a fresh start and continue to grow throughout his playing career. With a young and talented core in place for the Cavs, Markkanen could fit right in and help them develop into a playoff team.
After making four consecutive NBA Finals appearances and winning the NBA title, and seeing both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving leave town, it's been a neverending downhill slope for the Cavs. Now that they've added some young and promising talent in Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and Cedi Osman, Markkanen could be the perfect complementary piece to their new and exciting rotation.
Having said all this, let's take a look at three reasons the Cavs traded for Lauri Markkanen.
Cavs wanted to add more All-Star-caliber talent
Lauri Markkanen may not be an NBA All-Star yet, but with his wide array of skills he's not far from superstardom in the NBA. His ability to space the floor with his 3-point shooting and mid-range game will open up more opportunities for Darius Garland and Collin Sexton to wreak havoc for the Cavs.
With his size and length, he'd be able to help them out on the glass and give them another strong rebounder and rim protector outside of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. In Lauri Markkanen, the Cavs see a ton of untapped All-Star potential that just needs to be unleashed in the right system and under the right coaching staff. J.B. Bickerstaff could be prove to be the ultimate motivator for Markkanen.
Lauri Markkanen will play a bigger role for the Cavs
After publicly voicing his displeasure with his role on the Bulls, Markkanen will have a clean slate to work with in Cleveland and can play more meaningful minutes. The Cavs knew when they traded for him that they could provide him more playing time. They expect he will be more productive in their rotation.
Markkanen also completes their frontcourt rotation and gives Cleveland a young and crafty power forward with a versatile offensive game who can fill the role previously performed by Kevin Love. On the Cavs, Lauri Markkanen will play significant minutes and have a bigger role on the team.
Cavs see Markkanen as the perfect replacement for Kevin Love
With a similar skill set and more athleticism, Markkanen could be Cleveland's long-term solution at power forward, especially now that they're likely to trade an aging and costly Kevin Love. For a long time Love was a pivotal part of the Cavs' game plan, but now that they're aiming to rebuild, he doesn't fit their youth movement.
Love has publicly clashed with the organization over the past few seasons. That has made it quite obvious that he doesn't want to be in Cleveland anymore. With that in mind, Love would do much better on a contending team that's in dire need of scoring, rebounding, and veteran leadership. Having said all this, Lauri Markkanen will have a very bright future playing for the Cavs. He will get the minutes and he will have the big men around him who can allow him to evolve as a scorer.
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