Chicago Bulls: What to make of rookie Lauri Markkanen so far

The Chicago Bulls roster has recently undergone some major changes, including the addition of rookie Lauri Markkanen.

The Chicago Bulls are going into the 2017-18 NBA season with a completely different look.

After trading Jimmy Butler and their 2017 No. 16 pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the No. 7 overall pick, the organization drafted Markkanen, a 20-year-old out of Finland.

Unexpected, maybe. But the Bulls certainly could have done worse.

Markkanen, a seven-foot big man, spent one year the University of Arizona. As a Wildcat, he averaged 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in 30.8 minutes a game.

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He was selected as both the Pac-12 and Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week after recording a career-high 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field. He was also selected to the third team All-American team by AP and USA TODAY. Additionally, he made first team all Pac-12 team and was first team all Pac-12 Freshman team.

Before playing college basketball however, Markkanen went international. He played for the Finnish Under-18 national team, averaging 18.2 points a matchup in the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, and 24.9 points per contest in the 2016 tournament.

So to say the young fella can shoot would be an understatement. His size makes his skill-set all the more impressive.

The question is, how will his game translate into the world of professional hoops?

Well, his Summer League debut may just give some insight into that.

Markkanen scored 14 points while also grabbing eight rebounds on Saturday, in a 91-75 loss against the Dallas Mavericks. And while Chicago may have been defeated, they could at least feel confident in their rookie.

Having shot 5-for-11 from the field, the Bulls newbie received high praise from new teammate Dunn.

"“Great player,” Dunn said of Markkanen, to ESPN‘s Nick Friedell. “He can knock down a shot, put the ball on the deck, make plays. I think once he gets stronger, he’ll be very good.”"

Unfortunately, Markkanen followed that performance up with an eight-point, 1-of-13 shooting night in a 75-55 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. But just like he was able to brush it off, so should fans.

"“I can definitely improve something (with my shot), being more balanced and getting lower on my shot, but I’m not really worried about it,” Markkanen explained to NBC Sports’ Kurt Helin. “Those kinds of days happen, not often, but sometimes you just have them.”"

And he is right. Even the best of shooters have off days, so it’s not necessarily indicative of anything.

In fact, on Tuesday night in an 82-73 win over the Washington Wizards , the young buck bounced back and scored 20 points while also grabbing 10 rebounds.

Now it may take time for Markkanen to really get comfortable in a new system, especially under head coach Fred Hoiberg who runs a very specific style of offense. However, the raw talent is undoubtedly there, already having shown itself in Las Vegas.

While Chicago certainly deserves criticism for the deal it made in exchange for Butler, getting to add Markkanen to the roster is a definite silver lining.

In a league where big men are now expected to do more than just be great rim-protectors (Miami Heat’s Hassan Whiteside and Detroit Piston’s Andre Drummond being great examples of such), the Finnish giant is sure to make his mark.

One could argue he has already started to do just that.

Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far

Welcome to the Chicago Bulls, Lauri Markkanen.

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