Lauri Markkanen’s Success Proves The Bulls Have Underlying Development Issue

There might be more than just wind in the cold Chicago air, and it seems to be manufacturing more busts than buckets. Watching the ’20-21 NBA Playoffs and the Phoenix Suns burst onto the scene, Bulls fans couldn’t help but notice the sizeable contribution to a legitimate championship contender that a particular bench guard made. Cameron Payne’s coming out party against the Clippers in the Western Conference Finals included a 29-point explosion that headlined a postseason run where he averaged 9.3 points per game, more than any single season or postseason for the Bulls. This was no outlier either, it followed a regular season where he averaged career-highs in field goal and three-point percentages. This kind of thing happens all the time in sports though, right? Well, buckle up Bulls nation.

Unfortunately, whether it be for savvy veterans, moving on from players altogether, or going after an All-Star shining in Orlando, the Bulls have made several trades where they’ve sent young and undeveloped talent around the league with the hopes of solidifying a “win now” roster and mentality. This inherits some risk as trades naturally do, and the youth of the departing assets only doubles down on the gamble.

First up, the Bulls sent former second-round selection Daniel Gafford to the Washington Wizards in a three-team trade with Daniel Theis, Javonte Green, and Troy Brown Jr. returning in the deal. Gafford went on to average career highs in points, rebounds, and blocks, on his way to becoming a solid starter for 53 games in 2021 for the Wizards at the ripe age of 22. Take a deep breath, this is the easiest of the pills to swallow.

Next is possibly the biggest heartbreak on the list. Not only because of what the shipped-off pieces have since turned into but also because of the letdown of sorts that the return has been. In possibly the biggest deal since sending the beloved fan-favorite Jimmy Butler up north to Minnesota, the Bulls sent a 21-year-old Wendell Carter Jr., two first-round picks, and solid veteran Aminu down to Orlando in exchange for the two-time All-Star Nikola Vucevic. He’d recently introduced himself to Chicago fans by way of a dominant 43-point, 19-rebound performance just a month prior to burying the Bulls nearly single-handedly. This swap has since turned into a career resurgence for Carter Jr., a now 23-year-old starting center coming off career highs in points, rebounds, assists, and minutes for the Magic in 2021 leaving Bulls fans to wonder if they jumped ship too soon on the youngster. Not diving into the trade details too much but adding in Franz Wagner’s first-team all-rookie selection with the draft pick Chicago sent them, in addition to Vucevic’s dip in points, rebounds, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage since joining the Bulls, it sure casts a gloomy cloud over Chicago’s faithful fans to this day. Most of Bulls nation would take that one back if they could.

Recency bias leads dreadfully to Utah, where Lauri Markkanen is quite possibly the NBA’s most surprising story thus far. The Jazz are leading the Western Conference and the once-longest odds to win the NBA Finals have been the early Cinderella story of the 2022-23 campaign with Markkanen of all people at the helm! Leading the team in points per game at a career-high 22.4, alongside a staggering ten percent higher field goal percentage than his average during his Chicago tenure, it’s safe to say this version of the seven-foot Finnish forward was never flashed for the Bulls. The duo of Lavine and Markkanen that was once dreamt up in 2017 would be a dangerous one in today’s game.

If that’s not bad enough, how about an NBA Championship-winning team calling a former Bulls player their heart and soul? Former Razorback forward Bobby Portis for the Milwaukee Bucks. Although it was necessary to trade him after a practice incident in-house, it still pains Chicago fans to see the aftermath. Averaging a career-best in nearly any category you can imagine, Portis was a key contributor to the Bucks championship team in the 2020-21 season and was an instant fan favorite after proving to embody the hard work and grinding spirit of the Milwaukee faithful. Those beady eyes and that trademark headband will forever be etched in the memories of Chicagoans.

So the question looms, was this avoidable or something in Chicago’s making that is deterring talent from fully developing? Big city, early-round draft picks, defensive-minded franchise, passionate fanbase, the list goes on. Markkanen eluded to that pressure after his departure, “If you don’t get as many shots, you better make those shots count”, shooting a career-high 15.5 field goal attempts per game might validate the freedom he now feels in Utah. Looking for similarities in these rising stars that have left Chicago, moving to smaller markets, fewer expectations of winning, and more opportunities on the floor all come to mind. None of these players went off to a bigger market than Chicago, and it is well known that the basketball standard here was set in stone in 1984. A standard that has hardly been scratched since that miraculous Game 6 shot by Michael Jordan. Much like the arc of Cubs fans in the years leading up to the 2016 World Series victory, the Bulls following has grown more restless, the demand for winning more prominent than ever, and it is evident that the pressure is getting to these incoming young players.

“I NEVER REALLY GOT A CHANCE TO BE MY TRUE AUTHENTIC SELF BECAUSE OF THE NARRATIVE THAT WAS ALREADY CREATED FOR ME,” SAID PORTIS ABOUT HIS TIME IN CHICAGO.

Whether it is the pressure from the fans, the daunting weight of the banners in the United Center, or the front office team losing faith too soon, Bulls nation has had to witness too much greatness happen elsewhere from players once wearing the historic “Bulls” across the front of their jerseys. Who will be the next young Bull to stampede elsewhere?