Who was Lauri Markkanen traded for?

Lauri Markkanen is a Finnish professional basketball player who plays for the Utah Jazz in the NBA. Born and brought up in Jyvaskyla, Finland, Markkanen started his basketball career by playing for HBA-Marsky in the Finnish second-tier league in 2014. He then moved to the United States to develop his basketball skills.

For college, Markkanen committed to playing for the Arizona Wildcats and received an NCAA Division 1 scholarship. He debuted for the Arizona Wildcats in the 2016/17 season, where he made an immediate impact. In fact, he was so good that SB Nation proclaimed him to be the ‘best shooting 7-footer college basketball has ever seen’.

In his freshman season, Markkanen was named to the All-American third team by Associated Sports, NBC Sports, and USA Today. He was also an All-Pac 12 First-team selection as well as an All-Pac 12 Freshman First-team selection. After averaging 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in one season in college, Markkanen declared for the NBA draft, foregoing his final three years of college eligibility.

In the 2017 NBA Draft, Markkanen was picked by the Chicago Bulls with the seventh overall pick. With his size and shooting ability, the Bulls felt like they found a diamond in the rough.

Markkanen had a stellar rookie season, averaging 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, making the All-Rookie First-Team. Following his rookie season, Markkanen missed the first 23 games of his second NBA season. However, he did improve on his stats, upping his scoring to 18.7 a game and his rebounding to 9.0 a game.

Lauri Markkanen Trade

At the end of the 2020/21 season, the Bulls felt like they reached a stalemate with Markkanen. The team wanted to move towards a win-now direction while Markkanen needed more time to grow and evolve as a player.

As a result, Markkanen was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-team deal involving the Portland Trail Blazers. Markkanen struggled in his lone season in Cleveland. He never found his role over there and struggled to play as a traditional big man alongside Jarrett Allen and rookie Evan Mobley. In September 2022, the Cavs traded Markkanen, alongside Ochai Agbaji, Collin Sexton and three first-round picks to the Utah Jazz for superstar point guard Donovan Mitchell.

Markkanen has taken his game to the next level since joining Salt Lake City. He became an All-Star for the first time in 2023 and is one of the main offensive options on the team. In the 2022/23 season, Markkanen played 66 games for the Jazz and averaged a career-high 25.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.