Chicago Bulls: 3 reasons why a Lauri Markkanen return could work out

For the longest time this offseason, the departure of Lauri Markkanen from the Chicago Bulls has felt like a foregone conclusion just waiting to happen. Although the Bulls offered the 7-foot forward the one-year qualifying offer for $9 million, it was never intended to actually be accepted. No, by sending the qualifying offer Markkanen’s way the Bulls ensured he’d enter restricted free agency, where Chicago would reserve the right to match any offer sheet or negotiate a sign-and-trade.

That was, of course, before every other team spent their money elsewhere. Teams officially began negotiating with players on August 2, nearly two weeks ago. While the Bulls were breaking the bank to acquire Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, and Alex Caruso, Markkanen waited patiently for the right offer.

Upon receiving an offer from the San Antonio Spurs, Lauri rejected it in favor of the pursuit of more money. If this sounds familiar, you probably remember the “$4 million apart” fiasco in December of 2020, where Markkanen rejected another hefty offer to extend him through the foreseeable future.

As a result, Chicago was instead forced to trade beloved veteran Thaddeus Young to match salaries in the trade for DeRozan. This deal also necessitated the Bulls sending out Al-Farouq Aminu, a future first-round draft pick, and two future second-round draft picks. This understandably caused a rift between fans of the team and the once-promising prospect.

With no news on the trade rumor mill, is it time to start accepting that a Lauri Markkanen return might not be the worst thing for the Chicago Bulls?

This turn of events led the Bulls to begin exploring sign-and-trade options to recoup some value in the form of draft capital or bench depth. Several teams have been reportedly linked to having an interest in the big man, most notably the New Orleans Pelicans, the Charlotte Hornets, and Dallas Mavericks.

If Arturas Karnisovas is looking for a first-round draft pick as compensation for Markkanen, it remains to be seen if a team will bite on the deal. At the very least, leverage remains on Chicago’s side because Lauri could always return on the qualifying offer.

And it’s that exact thought experiment that’s been running through my mind all day. We’ve spent so much time waiting for Markkanen to be traded that we stopped considering the possibility he may still return. When you think things through, there are plenty of reasons (well, at least three) why Lauri playing out one more season with the Bulls may not be as disastrous as initially expected.