Lauri Markkanen became a restricted free agent Saturday after the Chicago Bulls extended a qualifying offer ahead of the free agency that starts August 2.
Markkanen is expected to draw interest from multiple teams, Michael Scotto of Hoopshype reports. In particular, the San Antonio Spurs, the OKC Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves are likely to be among those teams.
The Timberwolves can only acquire Markkanen through a sign-and-trade, while the Spurs and the Thunder have the cap space to sign him as a free agent.
Despite having his best year of his career in terms of shooting the ball, Markkanen averaged career-lows in minutes, points and rebounds.
He had 14.3 points on 48 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent shooting from three. However, that was not enough for the Bulls to return to the postseason, and that’s the reason Chicago could look elsewhere to upgrade its roster.
