2021-2022 AROUND the NBA: GSW Champs [ARCHIVED]

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The Chicago Bulls completed their sign-and-trade of Lauri Markkanen, sending him to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-team deal that brings Larry Nance Jr. to the Trail Blazers and Derrick Jones Jr., a protected Portland first-round pick and a protected Denver second-round pick to Chicago. Chicago had sign-and-trade interest for Markkanen from the following teams, according to sources: Dallas, New Orleans, Cleveland, Minnesota, San Antonio, Sacramento and Boston. The Bulls had driven a hard bargain, refusing trade offers and eventually being hung up on a second-round pick from Cleveland, sources said.

Markkanen is signing a four-year, $67.5 million deal with the Cavaliers, with a partial guarantee on the fourth year, sources said.

For executives around the league, the message appeared to be that the Bulls did not want to move Markkanen, even though it is clear the former No. 7 pick wanted a fresh start and asked out. Markkanen fully expected to be part of the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade package to San Antonio, but Chicago is believed to have pulled him from the proposal, sources said.

Markkanen had a one-year, $9 million qualifying offer on the table. But after a major offseason acquiring DeRozan, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso, the Bulls wanted to address the Markkanen situation sooner rather than later. If Markkanen signed the qualifying offer, he would have had a no-trade clause and therefore the Bulls risked losing him for nothing at the end of the season. The Bulls received a strong haul in a rotation player like Jones and two draft picks in Friday’s trade.