Lauri Markkanen doesn’t have to be good for the Bulls this upcoming season.
The 7-footer needs to be great.
How do you say “No pressure’’ in Finnish?
Why the urgency suddenly being cast on the soon-to-be third-year player? It’s definitely not coming from the outside. No, this is an inside job, all but determined by the two moves the Bulls made since the NBA free-agent frenzy started late Sunday night. Moves that scream from the walls within the Advocate Center for Markkanen to take a leap towards greatness.
The Bulls had $23-million and change to spend, and reached an agreement with veteran forward Thaddeus Young. Less than 14 hours later, there was the sign-and-trade with the Wizards, acquiring combo guard Tomas Satoransky, before handing out a three-year deal to him with some team protection in the final season.
Both needed additions, especially from a depth standpoint, but neither moved the superstar needle an inch.
Young will be a great veteran presence, maybe even an option to finish games late over Wendell Carter Jr., while Satoransky can not only tutor No. 7 overall pick Cody White, but help push Kris Dunn from a competition standpoint.
Golf claps for everyone, but not what was promised when Jimmy Butler was sent to Minnesota and the rebuild was the chosen path back in the 2017 offseason.
Vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said the focus was on a new direction. A move away from mediocrity. The goal was no longer to be a second or third-round playoff victim for a much more talented roster. It was to build a championship.
Memo to the front office: NBA championships are built by rosters with at least one superstar in the mix, while some have had even three or four.
Grit, spirit, and teamwork are all cute little adjectives, but the likes of Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James and Steph Curry haven’t shown much interest in what color your aura is glowing lately.
What the Bulls did this week was lock the roster in for at least the next two seasons. Sure, trades can always happen, but from a salary cap standpoint these are your Chicago Bulls through the 2020-21 season – like it or not.
The only way that changes is if Otto Porter declines his $28.4 million player option before the 20-21 campaign, which is all but unlikely.
What this means for this new-look core is a whole lot of “ifs.’’
If Zach LaVine’s talent ceiling is still actually a foot away from being reached rather than inches as it appears.
If Carter can overcome being an undersized center in the Eastern Conference, having to deal with the strength of a Joel Embiid or Nikola Vucevic, and now even having to deal with new Milwaukee big man – and former mentor – Robin Lopez.
If White can indeed turn into a bigger version of De’Aaron Fox, learning the point guard position on the fly.
If Markkanen can do all season long what he did for 11 games last February.
It’s the latter that is the most realistic because Markkanen proved it. The big man averaged 26 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists, while shooting 35 percent from three-point range in that stretch, reaching “unicorn’’ status along the way.
If he can stay healthy and come close to duplicating those numbers over an 82-game season, well, Paxson and general manager Gar Forman may indeed have landed their superstar, and have done it from within.
If not? This is nothing but another run toward mediocrity. Different roster, same ol’ outcome, same ol’ Bulls.
“Ei paineita,’’ Lauri.
