Lauri Markkanen exceeding expectations for the Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls are in year two of their rebuild. Lauri Markkanen’s season is one reason to believe the future is bright in Chicago.

As the long NBA campaign trudges toward March, the season has been a trying one for the Chicago Bulls. Currently sitting comfortably with the NBA’s fourth-worst record at 16-45, Bulls fans are more focused on lottery positioning than actually winning games.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the season has been a complete wash. Second-year forward Lauri Markkanen has been busy giving fans reasons to be excited about the future. The struggle to win games may be very real for Chicago, but for Markkanen, his growth this season has provided fans with a glimpse into what the future may hold.

After missing the first 23 games of the season due to an elbow injury, the former Arizona big man has saved his best basketball for 2019, scoring at least 20 or more points in 14 of 24 contests since the calendar turned. He has posted 11 double-doubles and has come within two rebounds or less of a double-double in six other contests.

For the season, Markkanen is averaging 19.3 points and 9.1 rebounds a night. The seven-footer is also shooting 38.3 percent from 3-point land. The Chicago Bulls clearly have found a gem. While other young stars from his draft class garner more fanfare, the seventh overall selection in the 2017 NBA Draft may prove more valuable.

Not everything should be about tanking

Sure, the Chicago Bulls are bad and their season has been a long and excruciating reminder of the pains of rebuilding. Some fans will pine for the losses to pile up in hopes of “earning” a higher chance of landing the top pick in the lottery. Keyword in that sentence: chance. Now is a good time to remember that the bottom three teams have only a 14 percent chance of landing the top pick.

That means the team with the worst record in the league has an 86 percent chance of NOT getting the top pick. The race to the bottom has the Bulls sitting “ahead” of the 20-41 Atlanta Hawks for the fourth-worst record.

With that being said, the development of Chicago’s young nucleus is as important, if not more important, than trying to lose games. Lauri Markkanen represents the team’s best chance at future prominence and the more he develops this season, the better the future is.

Comparing Lauri Markkanen’s second season to Dirk Nowitzki‘s

In his second season, Markkanen has improved every major offensive statistic. He’s scoring 28.7 points per 100 possessions, his Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is at 18.0 and he’s scored 20-plus points 19 times and 30-plus points six times.

He’s scoring more in his age-21 season (19.3 points per game) than his European counterpart, Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks, did during the1999-00 season (17.5 points per game). Markkanen’s 3-point shooting is slightly higher than Nowitzki’s was that season (38.3 percent to 37.9). Digging further into Dirk’s sophomore season, he posted nine double-doubles in 82 games, while Markkanen has posted 15 in 38 games.

The comparison to the future Hall-of-Famer isn’t to say that Lauri will eventually take his place in the Hall of Fame himself; just simply pointing out that his ceiling is higher than originally expected, just as Nowitzki’s was when he was drafted out of Germany.

Finish the season strong and build for 2019-20

The Chicago Bulls have 21 games remaining in 2018-19. Some fans would probably prefer the team loses all 21 and cozies into the bottom three of the league. In reality, the best measure of success the rest of the season won’t be in wins and losses. Lauri Markkanen finishing the campaign strong is the most important factor toward future success.

If he can continue to mesh well with Zach LaVine while Otto Porter Jr. gives them both lanes to operate in, that will be considered a successful finish. If Kris Dunn can somehow put together a solid finish and feed the ball to the team’s best players, that would be an added bonus. Whether the Bulls actually win games or not is not as important as the team continuing to jell as a unit.

Chicago is headed for the top of the lottery this summer and should add a dynamic player to partner with Markkanen, LaVine, Porter and Wendell Carter Jr. to form a talented young core. The Finnisher is the most talented and the franchise’s best player. His development is crucial and he’s already exceeding what most expected of him.

With the 2020 NBA All-Star game in the Windy City, Lauri Markkanen might just represent the Bulls on All-Star Sunday.