3 trades the Cavs could make with Lauri Markkanen

No one except for Cavs fans with the rosiest of glasses saw this past season coming, a doubling of the team’s win total from the year before. Included in that massive surprise were a series of smaller surprises, from how dominant Evan Mobley was as a rookie defender to how the Cleveland Cavaliers started three 7-footers from day one.

Lauri Markkanen was certainly third on the ladder of most important pieces of that “Three Towers” lineup, but he played well last season. He joined the Cavs last season in a sign-and-trade with the Chicago Bulls, a move that at the least was not a disaster, and at the most was a shrewd move. We recently regraded the deal a season later, and Markkanen graded out favorably.

The Cleveland Cavaliers could make a bold trade this offseason and move Lauri Markkanen. If they do, what returns could the Cavs expect leaguewide?

That being said, he is not among the elite core of players the Cavs will build their next great team on, and often teams have to lose good players to become great. What if the Cavs decide the best way to pursue long-term greatness is to trade Lauri Markkanen? That’s not saying this should trade Markkanen, or that they would; he fit into the team’s culture quite well. Our own Dan Gilinsky makes the case not to in one of his latest pieces.

Yet if the Cavs do, there are a number of ways they could go. Markkanen’s mid-tier salary and overall production make it possible for a number of trades to work. Let’s set aside the popular Jerami Grant idea that Right Down Euclid’s Evan Dammarell reported on: that’s been covered. Here are three other options for Lauri Markkanen trades around the association.