Cavs: 3 lineups with Lauri Markkanen they should try

The Cleveland Cavaliers do not have a roster stocked with versatile players who can slide up-and-down the lineup. They have a collection of small guards, wings who can’t play at the 4, and an absolutely packed frontcourt of bigs. There are only so many effective lineups that head coach J.B. Bickerstaff can play.

The recent three-team trade with the Chicago Bulls and Portland Trail Blazers shakes that collection up. The Cavs do lose Larry Nance Jr., key to many of the most interesting defensive lineups that the team could trot out. On the other hand, adding a stretch-big like Lauri Markkanen opens things up on the offensive end.

Newly-acquired big Lauri Markkanen can be the key to unlocking some potent lineups for the Cavs

Most teams have their best shooters concentrated at the perimeter positions, with knockdown marksmen on the wing or in the backcourt. Lauri Markkanen inverts that, shooting over 40 percent from 3-point range as a 7-foot big man. That allows the Cavs to get creative in filling players in around him.

Markkanen is a defensive sieve, but in the right system he can work towards competence in that area. Even without it, he can be a jumbo Duncan Robinson or JJ Redick, moving around the court and launching uncontestable shots from anywhere in the half-court. Which lineup combinations are the most intriguing and could unlock something special from the presence of Markkanen on the roster?