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A blockbuster trade in the NBA came to fruition on Friday, and it landed Lauri Markkanen with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The three-team deal also sent Derrick Jones Jr. and two draft picks to the Chicago Bulls and Larry Nance Jr. to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Reaction has poured in since the trade was announced, and now it's time to grade this deal from all three perspectives.
Cleveland Cavaliers: B-
There are a couple of key factors in the Cavs getting Lauri Markkanen that give them a lower grade for in this three-team swap.
Let's start with the deal Markkanen received upon being traded.
Cleveland is acquiring Chicago restricted free agent F Lauri Markkanen on a four-year, $67M deal in a sign-and-trade, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 27, 2021
The Cavs now have a ton of money tied up in Kevin Love, Jarrett Allen and Lauri Markkanen. It's not exactly a big three worthy of chewing up a ton of cap space, but it's what the Cavaliers have on their plate at the present moment. Obviously any sign-and-trade of Markkanen would warrant a new deal, but one has to wonder if this is the last move Cleveland makes or if it now will try anything and everything to send Love somewhere else.
Collin Sexton is due a contract extension soon and Darius Garland will be up shortly after that. There are only so many checks to go around. While the young core of Sexton, Garland, Markkanen, Isaac Okoro and Evan Mobley is super fascinating, the Cavs will have some cleaning up to do in the salary cap department.
Secondly, it's now a crowded room in the frontcourt for the Cavs.
Cleveland dished out a five-year, $100 million deal for Allen back in July, so he isn't going anywhere. They just used the No. 3 overall pick in the draft on Evan Mobley, and the trade for Lauri Markkanen obviously puts him in Cleveland for the long haul. It again would seem to indicate that Kevin Love is the odd man out, but if a trade partner can't be found, Love will certainly warrant minutes on the floor next season for the Cavs.
The move to get Markkanen is one of optimism for the Cavs in adding the perimeter-oriented forward, and it could certainly pay off. But there are other loose ends that need to be tightened up after making the deal.
Chicago Bulls: A-
Chicago clearly had no interest in keeping Lauri Markkanen around, especially after the offseason they just had, and he wanted a new home.
Now knowing that they just sent away Markkanen and received valuable trade capital in return along with Derrick Jones Jr. is just a cherry on top.
Lonzo Ball was added this offseason. As was DeMar DeRozan. As was Alex Caruso. They traded for Nikola Vucevic at the NBA Trade Deadline last season. The Bulls' new regime isn't messing around.
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Getting rid of Markkanen was a foregone conclusion. Doing it and scooping up a protected first-round pick from the Blazers and a protected second-round pick via the Denver Nuggets is a hell of a get for Chicago.
A lineup that will feature Ball, Zach LaVine, DeRozan, Patrick Williams and Vucevic with Coby White and Caruso in the mix as well left Lauri Markkanen on the outside looking in once the free agency wave was underway. Now he gets a fresh start in Cleveland while the Bulls add draft capital and Jones.
Going with the Jones theme, it's a good get for the Bulls He should see minutes in the rotation as a spark-plug type of player off the bench. He brings crazy athleticism to the defensive side of the court and will be a nice change of pace player in Billy Donovan's rotation.
The Bulls did well in getting something for Lauri Markkanen when they had no intentions of bringing him back.
Portland Trail Blazers: B
The Blazers may seem like an afterthought in this whole trade scenario, but Larry Nance Jr. is not only super underrated, he was adored by the Cleveland faithful.
Portland gets someone with great athleticism who gives max effort each night. Nance isn't going to take over games or be the sidekick alongside Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, but he's such a good role player to add.
It was a very quiet offseason in terms of addition to this Blazers roster, which can't help the case for them keeping Lillard satisfied for the long run, but getting Nance is a sneaky-good add.
Much of the the attention will get paid to Lauri Markkanen as the feature piece in this three-team swap. Chicago will get recognized for scooping up assets, but the Blazers did well too.
Those are the draft grades for each team, with the most questions emerging from the Cavs' corner as to what the acquisition could mean for Love and extensions for Sexton and Garland.
