Chicago Bulls do not want to lose forward Lauri Markkanen for nothing this offseason, hoping to find a potential sign-and-trade deal.
The Pelicans are interested in adding the Finnish forward, as they ‘hold a sizable trade exception ($17 million) to take the restricted free agent on a contract he seeks’, per Marc Stein of Substack.
Markkanen had sort of a bounce-back season in the 2020-21 NBA campaign, despite missing time with injury. He averaged 13.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 25.8 minutes over 51 games with the Chicago Bulls.
The Charlotte Hornets and the Dallas Mavericks are also interested in acquiring the former Arizona Wildcats’ product. Markkanen finished the season shooting 48.0 percent from deep on four attempts per game.
He is expected to move on from the Bulls this offseason, after spending his first four years of his career in Chicago. He was the 7th overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft.
