Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen visited power forward Lauri Markkanen in Finland this summer.
Markkanen says he had a great time with Boylen, who met Markkanen's family as well.
“We had a really good time,” Markkanen said of Boylen’s trip to Finland, via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “We talked about not just basketball but life. It’s good for your player-coach relationship. For him to see where I grew up and meet my family was important.”
Jim Boylen took over for Fred Hoiberg in December of 2018. The Bulls went 17-41 under Boylen and finished the 2018-19 season at 22-60, 13th place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Bulls vice president of basketball operations John Paxson likes the way Boylen holds all the players on the team accountable. Boylen is definitely an old school type of coach, something Paxson, general manager Gar Forman and the rest of the brass in Chicago enjoy seeing.
For the Bulls to improve this season, Boylen will have to have a good relationship with all of his players, but most notably Zach LaVine, Otto Porter Jr, Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr. — the four players the Bulls are looking to build around moving forward.
Boylen met with LaVine while the guard was training in the Bahamas, so it's clear the head coach is doing everything he can to establish a positive rapport with his players.
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