No less than Chicago Bulls executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas has affirmed the team's commitment to 23-year-old power forward Lauri Markkanen for the long haul.
According to the Bulls' top executive, the team is fully committed to finding any and all ways to help the 7-foot big man attain his “best version” for next season.
“We’ve spoken to Lauri numerous times. He’s been very patient, stayed in the market. His family is now with him,” Karnisovas said, via Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. “I spoke to him about last year. He’s eager to get back to the gym and improve. He was disappointed by the overall result (last season). Every player wants to win. He’s about winning, as well. Our objective is to get the best version of Lauri next year. We agreed in conversations that this is our objective, and we’re going to try to do it.”
Interestingly, Karnisovas' comments seemed to be somewhat of a response to previous reports pertaining to Markkanen being unhappy in Chicago and the possibility of the Finnish national asking for a trade. Then again, Markkanen himself later quelled these reports, stating his commitment to the team.
The Bulls exec appeared to be supporting Markkanen's earlier comments by proclaiming that the team are likewise committed to the former seventh overall pick.
Karnisovas continued by saying that they intend to put together a special plan for Markkanen to ensure that they get the best out of him for next term.
“We’re going to strive to get better. Same thing with Lauri,” Karnisovas added. “We have a lot of time this offseason. We’re going to put a plan together for him. We’re going to schedule and do that.”
For the record, Lauri Markkanen's current rookie-scale deal with the Bulls runs out at the end of the 2020-21 season, so needless to say, the upcoming campaign is going to be make-or-break for both Markkanen and the Windy City franchise.
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