NEWSLETTER
Dallas, Charlotte, San Antonio, and New Orleans. Those are four teams (that we know of) to have reportedly expressed interest in Bulls restricted free agent Lauri Markkanen. However, despite these four teams entering the picture, and Markkanen saying he has offers from “several different teams,” we have yet to see the big man find a new home.
A big reason for this could be because of Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley. The Chicago Bulls front office holds significant leverage in these negotiations with cap space dried up around the league. If a team wants to acquire Markkanen, they will have to negotiate a sign-and-trade agreement with the Bulls, and we have heard Chicago’s front office wants a first-round pick in return. All things considered, that could be too high of an asking price for a player who has regressed each of the past two seasons.
What also might not help in negotiations is the fact that Markkanen has reportedly asked organizations for quite the haul. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Markkanen did not end up a part of the San Antonio deal because he wanted “too much money.” We heard a similar report about his situation with the Dallas Mavericks.
Regardless of the reasoning, the clock is ticking. If Markkanen truly wants that “fresh start” both Markkanen and the front office are going to have to likely budge to get something done. The alternative, of course, would be both sides agreeing that a return on his $9 million qualifying offer is the best outcome. Not only would this give the Bulls a sharpshooting frontcourt piece to round out their depth, but it would also give Markkanen a chance to hit unrestricted free agency next offseason and fully control his own destiny.
We should note that this qualifying offer can be renounced, but the last chance for the Bulls to do that without Markkanen’s permission would be today.
Friday is the last day for a team to pull a Qualifying Offer without the permission of the player.
Some notable restricted free agents with QO #
– Lauri Markkanen ($9M)
– Josh Hart ($5.2M)
– Hamidou Diallo ($2.1M)
– Jarred Vanderbilt ($2.1M)— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) August 13, 2021
One reason the Bulls could entertain this idea is to scare Markkanen into finally lowering his asking price – that is, if his demands have been part of the problem. After all, a $9 million contract is a solid last-resort option. If the Bulls threaten to strip that from him, maybe he feels more comfortable accepting a deal worth $11 million to fit into Dallas’ current trade exception.
Ultimately, we’ll find out what they decide soon(ish). My guess is we see the QO stay where it is as they continue to hunt sign-and-trade opportunities. This arguably feels like the best decision for both parties, especially Markkanen, who otherwise could hit the open market and fall into a similar situation as Dennis Schroder (who has to sign a one-year deal worth only $5.9 million with Boston). And, again, there are worse things for Chicago than having a player like Markkanen coming off the bench, which is why I don’t see them completely renouncing his rights if they don’t have to.
