Last offseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Lauri Markkanen to a four-year, $67.5 million contract formally via sign-and-trade, albeit with $6 million guaranteed in the fourth season. Some questioned the move as the Cavs already had a big man rotation of Kevin Love, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. But, Markkanen proved last season that he was well worth the contract and even made his way into the starting lineup to open up the season, where he looked more comfortable as the season progressed.
Markkanen is still under contract for three more seasons and has already set the standards high for his stint in Cleveland. It is unknown whether he will retain his starting small forward spot this season with Isaac Okoro continuing to progress and the Cavs drafting Ochai Agbaji, although it seems to be a likely scenario.
If J.B. Bickerstaff is dead set on running back the three-big starting lineup, Markkanen will remain as the teams’ small forward, however, if they decide to go with a more traditional look, Markkanen will likely be the first or second player off the bench this year. When the three-big lineup was healthy last season, it worked well, so Markkanen again starting would appear to be a good possibility, but we’ll see.
When it comes for setting goals for Markkanen this season, his minutes and whether or not he will be starting is something that is very important to keep in mind. As a result of this, if he does not start, one goal may need to be scaled back. For the sake of the two goals today, we will be assuming that Markkanen will be the starter for Cleveland this next season.
Things are looking very bright in Cleveland for both Markkanen along with the team as a whole. If he is able to achieve both of these two goals for next season, it will be a very successful season for him as a player, and he will be a great role player for the Cavs.