Lauri Markkanen was once touted as one of the Chicago Bulls' potential building blocks for the future. But with a new-look roster centered around Zach LaVine and two other veteran All-Stars, it appears the sweet shooting big man has been the odd man out.

There has been no shortage of rumors surrounding where Markkanen is headed. However, Lauri's biggest enemy appears to be the Bulls themselves. The franchise holds most of the leverage over Markkanen as most teams would need a sign-and-trade to facilitate a move for him.

Chicago has been adamant that anyone who wants a deal with Markkanen would need to pony up an asset such as a first-round pick. They'd also need to look for a third team to take on salary in exchange for the Finnish product, as the Bulls don't want to take on any more additional salary on their books. That's a heavy price to pay for an uncertain commodity in Lauri Markkanen.

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Via Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer:

“Chicago is playing this masterfully from no other perspective than a contract management standpoint,” said one team capologist. “It won't do any favors relationship-wise, but they're bleeding his market based on their tax situation, and nobody else can offer him any kind of money without them.”

The end result may have Lauri Markkanen accepting the qualifying offer from the Bulls and playing out the season. But the offseason is a long way from over, and teams may still pounce on him when it's all said and done.