Cavs: Does Lauri Markkanen have a starting case?

When the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Lauri Markkanen via sign-and-trade from the Chicago Bulls, in what was a three-team deal including the Portland Trail Blazers too, it was evident that the spacing element was the rationale.

Markkanen has had troubles with injuries, such as an elbow sprain to begin 2018-19, a pelvic injury in 2019-20, both of which sidelined for considerable stretches, and last season, he missed seven outings because of COVID-19 health and safety protocols. A right shoulder injury and then a move to a bench role to close out last season led to inconsistencies last season as well, and the year prior, he had some struggles.

That said, Markkanen is still a talented offensive player, as KJG’s Amadou Sow expressed, and he is a bonafide floor spacing presence. So Cleveland pursuing Markkanen, even in sending out Larry Nance Jr., most notably, I could understand.

Markkanen, even with a fair amount being from very deep range, is a real catch-and-shoot weapon that at 7-foot, is a player whose shot is not really that contested, and his shooting mechanics are fluid. He hit 40.2 percent of his 5.8 three-point attempts per game last season for Chicago, and he should be a heck of a ball-swing/kickout target for Cleveland.

Plus, Markkanen is a player that can put the ball on the deck some to create his own offense, and even with him looking unorthodox in doing so at times, he can finish with craftiness and touch. Along with the offensive/scoring abilities, and with him showing some flashes as a passer/ball-mover, he is a capable defensive rebounder, which could aid the Cavs to some degree.

With the likes of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen in mind, and to some extent Kevin Love, even while it seems that his minutes-share will take a step back, could the former Bull have a starting case, though?

We’ll take a look at that here, regarding the new Cavs acquisition in Markkanen.

Markkanen will see some of his minutes-share at the 5, and was there 51 percent of the time last season with the Bulls, but with Allen in the fold, I wouldn’t consider that much there.

Allen, who was re-signed via five-year, $100 million deal, is a 5 that has a budding chemistry with Darius Garland, and I firmly believe that his rim protection, screening and lob presence should warrant him being in that spot, and that’ll play out.

In relation to the others at the 4, there’s Love and Mobley. Love was only active in 25 games last season and was forced to withdraw from Team USA before the Tokyo Olympics due to him still not being fully back/ready to go due to a right calf injury.

If he can be healthy heading into preseason/next season, perhaps there’s a chance that he is a starter, early on at least next season; he is reportedly not interested in negotiating a buyout at this juncture, either.

But it has been rumored that Love could potentially come off the bench, and Cleveland is reportedly considering playing him some/perhaps seemingly a good amount as a backup 5. So I wouldn’t put him that seriously in consideration there.

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That’s where it leads to Mobley, Cleveland’s #3 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Mobley is not a floor spacer yet, however, he did show good touch in other areas in AAU play and in his lone collegiate season at USC, and even with him needing to put on weight gradually, he should be an impact defender from the jump.

And his fluidity, ability to sit and slide to contain driving threats, his rim protection qualities and with his guard-like skills, including passing vision, it does seem that Mobley could very well start from the outset, and I couldn’t blame the Cavs for doing that.

Mobley is a player could definitely be the team’s star/centerpiece in the near future, and they need to get him a whole bunch of playing time.

So while he and Markkanen could feasibly play together in stretches and will, and a bit with Allen too with him it’d appear, I would expect Markkanen to be a go-to bench contributor.

That’s early on, at minimum, but I’d expect that to be the case for most of next season, barring injury, and with Markkanen’s defensive limitations, I’d get that. Markkanen could still seemingly be featured more so as a key bench contributor anyway, and regardless, he could still end up getting starting minutes very frequently.

Next. Cavs: Evaluating the fit of Markkanen with Mobley. dark

I’d still expect Markkanen to be coming off the bench for the Cavaliers, though; well that’s for early on next season, I’d think in this sense. Maybe that changes as next season progresses/looking onward; we’ll have to see there.