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Lauri Markkanen - Utahin Marsalkka: All-NBA Snub

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Do You Enjoy Saunas?

  • Yes

    Votes: 1 7.1%
  • No

    Votes: 1 7.1%
  • Yes, only if it is co-ed and naked

    Votes: 5 35.7%
  • Yes, but only if nudity is not allowed

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No, heat gives me rashes

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No, I prefer a bracing plunge into Lake Erie in January

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Yes, but only if a naked Lauri is present

    Votes: 5 35.7%
  • Yes, only if Jim Chones is present

    Votes: 4 28.6%
  • No, no Jim Chones, no Sauna!

    Votes: 2 14.3%
  • Yes, but only if drinks are served and Death Metal is played

    Votes: 3 21.4%

  • Total voters
    14
I found some highlights and analysis in 2017 Euro FIBA games because I really liked him since then. ISO post up and fadeaway 15 ft, got some handles and pull up a shot, and also able to identify the open man when double teamed and of course the ability to fly and shoot from outside. Chicago didn’t shine him much opportunities with the ball in his hands or in the post where he was able to create for his fadeaway in last 2 years. I saw some of this while Hoilberg as coach and Hoilberg loves players who can shoot and create offensively. The ability he has on offense is very good and I liked his handles for a 7 ft. We really needed someone like Lauri to help offensively and I believe he can bring a lot to the table.

 
2 words…Lucious Harris
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I found some highlights and analysis in 2017 Euro FIBA games because I really liked him since then. ISO post up and fadeaway 15 ft, got some handles and pull up a shot, and also able to identify the open man when double teamed and of course the ability to fly and shoot from outside. Chicago didn’t shine him much opportunities with the ball in his hands or in the post where he was able to create for his fadeaway in last 2 years. I saw some of this while Hoilberg as coach and Hoilberg loves players who can shoot and create offensively. The ability he has on offense is very good and I liked his handles for a 7 ft. We really needed someone like Lauri to help offensively and I believe he can bring a lot to the table.


One thing in favor of JB is that he does let his players be who they are. We have seen both bad and good there with Nance being a playmaker as well as putting the ball in Drummond's hands. We have seen Allen shooting wide open 3s.

Maybe a little freedom would help Lauri fit in better. He will certainly have more offensive leeway than he did in Chicago because quite frankly his scoring will be needed if they want to win games.
 
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One thing in favor of JB is that he does let his players be who they are. We have seen both bad and good there with Nance being a playmaker as well as putting the ball in Drummond's hands. We have seen Allen shooting wide open 3s.

Maybe a little freedom would help Lauri fit in better. He will certainly have more offensive leeway than he did in Chicago because quite frankly his scoring will be needed if they want to win games.
Good point you made about JB letting his players be who they are. In Memphis, JB wanted the players to have the players to read and react freely as he wanted the players to make quick cuts and actions which we briefly saw when we had full practices. You really need high IQ players in order to read and react but Garland and Sexton did say in their press conferences that they needed to move the ball more. At the same time, it adds that freedom to the players. I do want to see a lot more cutback door cuts to the basket and off the ball screens.
 
Hello Cavs fans!

Long time Lauri Markkanen fan here from Finland. I wanted to sign in on this forum to tell you some information and perspectives that I have based on finnish media, insider talks & knowledge.

Introduction:
First of all I have been following Lauri closely since the times he came to HBA-Märsky which is basically a high school that focuses on basketball and their basketball team plays in Finlands second highest league. Lauri was a name which, everyone who know something about Finnish basketball, was talking about. Finland is a small country with only 5,5 mil people and we do not have many basketball talents. Only Hanno Möttölä and American-Finnish Erik Murphy have ever been in NBA and it seemed like this tall fellow might be our next guy.

Offtracks in Bulls:
Trying to keep it short and stick to the point: We all know that he eventually went in Chicago and first two seasons were great and then something happened. Now Lauri has even said in Finnish (most popular sport) podcast "Urheilucast" that Jim Boylens coaching stuff wanted his role to be mainly a 3-point-shooter, to forget about his midrange game and attacking postgame could almost only come from drives or off. rebounds. Bulls wanted to focus on Zach Lavine from the 2019-2020 season on. He didn't like that but what you gotta understand after all this talk that Lauri wants that and that is that Lauri is a team player. He does what coach tells him. That's how he ended with the situation that he wanted eventually leave Chicago and have a fresh start at somewhere else.

About joining Cavs eventually:

Lauri's agent gave this interview to Finnish media where he corrects lot of rumours. About 10 teams wanted Lauri and some were willing to pay him more that cavs did, some less. But it was up to Chicago, who wanted draft pick, so they were negotiating a long time about this. Lauri and his agent felt that eventually they got the best deal with the right team in Cavaliers deal. Big part of that was that Cavs really wanted Lauri and were very active on the trade. He really just wanted a fresh start in a team that lets him play and show the best of him despite anything else. The rumours that Spurs declined a deal after Markkanen wanted too much money were absolutely false. Lauri isn't doing this for the money. He's very humble and even a bit shy guy like we Finns usually are. The final deal is either 67,5mil/4 seasons OR 56mil/3 seasons if Cavs want to change it.

My personal view of Lauri:
After all the years I think Lauri still got A LOT of potential to show in NBA, we all know he's second season February where he played crazy game and I think he still got it. He is great 3-pointer, fast and good dribbler at his size, has a good midrange game and good overall view of the game. Totally capable of those 20-10 numbers you'll want. Only major risk I see is that he's been injury prone, that has been talked a lot and it's a clear downside. He's not the best defender in the paint for sure but to us europeans seems a bit silly sometimes when NBA fans talk about defending. I mean NBA almost has no defending at all during regular season games. Houston rockets games end up 150-140 something even without extra time :D Ok yea sorry but of course I understand Lauri isn't the best 1-1 rim protector defender but he still can defend. He just needs a better team defending system behind him that Bulls had, so I wouldn't be too concerned about that.

I try to write here occasionally if Finnish media brings up something new etc. Cheers!

-Timo
 
Hello Cavs fans!

Long time Lauri Markkanen fan here from Finland. I wanted to sign in on this forum to tell you some information and perspectives that I have based on finnish media, insider talks & knowledge.

Introduction:
First of all I have been following Lauri closely since the times he came to HBA-Märsky which is basically a high school that focuses on basketball and their basketball team plays in Finlands second highest league. Lauri was a name which, everyone who know something about Finnish basketball, was talking about. Finland is a small country with only 5,5 mil people and we do not have many basketball talents. Only Hanno Möttölä and American-Finnish Erik Murphy have ever been in NBA and it seemed like this tall fellow might be our next guy.

Offtracks in Bulls:
Trying to keep it short and stick to the point: We all know that he eventually went in Chicago and first two seasons were great and then something happened. Now Lauri has even said in Finnish (most popular sport) podcast "Urheilucast" that Jim Boylens coaching stuff wanted his role to be mainly a 3-point-shooter, to forget about his midrange game and attacking postgame could almost only come from drives or off. rebounds. Bulls wanted to focus on Zach Lavine from the 2019-2020 season on. He didn't like that but what you gotta understand after all this talk that Lauri wants that and that is that Lauri is a team player. He does what coach tells him. That's how he ended with the situation that he wanted eventually leave Chicago and have a fresh start at somewhere else.

About joining Cavs eventually:

Lauri's agent gave this interview to Finnish media where he corrects lot of rumours. About 10 teams wanted Lauri and some were willing to pay him more that cavs did, some less. But it was up to Chicago, who wanted draft pick, so they were negotiating a long time about this. Lauri and his agent felt that eventually they got the best deal with the right team in Cavaliers deal. Big part of that was that Cavs really wanted Lauri and were very active on the trade. He really just wanted a fresh start in a team that lets him play and show the best of him despite anything else. The rumours that Spurs declined a deal after Markkanen wanted too much money were absolutely false. Lauri isn't doing this for the money. He's very humble and even a bit shy guy like we Finns usually are. The final deal is either 67,5mil/4 seasons OR 56mil/3 seasons if Cavs want to change it.

My personal view of Lauri:
After all the years I think Lauri still got A LOT of potential to show in NBA, we all know he's second season February where he played crazy game and I think he still got it. He is great 3-pointer, fast and good dribbler at his size, has a good midrange game and good overall view of the game. Totally capable of those 20-10 numbers you'll want. Only major risk I see is that he's been injury prone, that has been talked a lot and it's a clear downside. He's not the best defender in the paint for sure but to us europeans seems a bit silly sometimes when NBA fans talk about defending. I mean NBA almost has no defending at all during regular season games. Houston rockets games end up 150-140 something even without extra time :D Ok yea sorry but of course I understand Lauri isn't the best 1-1 rim protector defender but he still can defend. He just needs a better team defending system behind him that Bulls had, so I wouldn't be too concerned about that.

I try to write here occasionally if Finnish media brings up something new etc. Cheers!

-Timo
Great first post, and welcome to RCF.

You're going to read some nasty things said about Lauri, because that's the nature of the beast of fandom. I'll probably be some of the worst because I love to use extreme hyperboles to get my point across. I personally love when foreign fans can help translate/share articles from their home country about a player. Foreign players seem to be a bit more open with their comments when speaking in their home country, but very tight lipped when speaking with American media.
 
Hello Cavs fans!

Long time Lauri Markkanen fan here from Finland. I wanted to sign in on this forum to tell you some information and perspectives that I have based on finnish media, insider talks & knowledge.

Introduction:
First of all I have been following Lauri closely since the times he came to HBA-Märsky which is basically a high school that focuses on basketball and their basketball team plays in Finlands second highest league. Lauri was a name which, everyone who know something about Finnish basketball, was talking about. Finland is a small country with only 5,5 mil people and we do not have many basketball talents. Only Hanno Möttölä and American-Finnish Erik Murphy have ever been in NBA and it seemed like this tall fellow might be our next guy.

Offtracks in Bulls:
Trying to keep it short and stick to the point: We all know that he eventually went in Chicago and first two seasons were great and then something happened. Now Lauri has even said in Finnish (most popular sport) podcast "Urheilucast" that Jim Boylens coaching stuff wanted his role to be mainly a 3-point-shooter, to forget about his midrange game and attacking postgame could almost only come from drives or off. rebounds. Bulls wanted to focus on Zach Lavine from the 2019-2020 season on. He didn't like that but what you gotta understand after all this talk that Lauri wants that and that is that Lauri is a team player. He does what coach tells him. That's how he ended with the situation that he wanted eventually leave Chicago and have a fresh start at somewhere else.

About joining Cavs eventually:

Lauri's agent gave this interview to Finnish media where he corrects lot of rumours. About 10 teams wanted Lauri and some were willing to pay him more that cavs did, some less. But it was up to Chicago, who wanted draft pick, so they were negotiating a long time about this. Lauri and his agent felt that eventually they got the best deal with the right team in Cavaliers deal. Big part of that was that Cavs really wanted Lauri and were very active on the trade. He really just wanted a fresh start in a team that lets him play and show the best of him despite anything else. The rumours that Spurs declined a deal after Markkanen wanted too much money were absolutely false. Lauri isn't doing this for the money. He's very humble and even a bit shy guy like we Finns usually are. The final deal is either 67,5mil/4 seasons OR 56mil/3 seasons if Cavs want to change it.

My personal view of Lauri:
After all the years I think Lauri still got A LOT of potential to show in NBA, we all know he's second season February where he played crazy game and I think he still got it. He is great 3-pointer, fast and good dribbler at his size, has a good midrange game and good overall view of the game. Totally capable of those 20-10 numbers you'll want. Only major risk I see is that he's been injury prone, that has been talked a lot and it's a clear downside. He's not the best defender in the paint for sure but to us europeans seems a bit silly sometimes when NBA fans talk about defending. I mean NBA almost has no defending at all during regular season games. Houston rockets games end up 150-140 something even without extra time :D Ok yea sorry but of course I understand Lauri isn't the best 1-1 rim protector defender but he still can defend. He just needs a better team defending system behind him that Bulls had, so I wouldn't be too concerned about that.

I try to write here occasionally if Finnish media brings up something new etc. Cheers!

-Timo

Welcome, and thanks for posting this! It's fun for us to get fans from other countries to support their countrymen.
 
Gonna miss Nance. Especially defensively.

but…he never could stay healthy for us it seemed.

not that Markannen is a pillar of health…

Love his fit with Mobley and Allen though.

Love the desperately needed shooting he brings to the team. More space for everyone, guards, bigs, everyone.

Adds a much needed new dimension to the offense.

Team is really coming together. Starting to make a lot more sense on paper.
 
Hello Cavs fans!

Long time Lauri Markkanen fan here from Finland. I wanted to sign in on this forum to tell you some information and perspectives that I have based on finnish media, insider talks & knowledge.

Introduction:
First of all I have been following Lauri closely since the times he came to HBA-Märsky which is basically a high school that focuses on basketball and their basketball team plays in Finlands second highest league. Lauri was a name which, everyone who know something about Finnish basketball, was talking about. Finland is a small country with only 5,5 mil people and we do not have many basketball talents. Only Hanno Möttölä and American-Finnish Erik Murphy have ever been in NBA and it seemed like this tall fellow might be our next guy.

Offtracks in Bulls:
Trying to keep it short and stick to the point: We all know that he eventually went in Chicago and first two seasons were great and then something happened. Now Lauri has even said in Finnish (most popular sport) podcast "Urheilucast" that Jim Boylens coaching stuff wanted his role to be mainly a 3-point-shooter, to forget about his midrange game and attacking postgame could almost only come from drives or off. rebounds. Bulls wanted to focus on Zach Lavine from the 2019-2020 season on. He didn't like that but what you gotta understand after all this talk that Lauri wants that and that is that Lauri is a team player. He does what coach tells him. That's how he ended with the situation that he wanted eventually leave Chicago and have a fresh start at somewhere else.

About joining Cavs eventually:

Lauri's agent gave this interview to Finnish media where he corrects lot of rumours. About 10 teams wanted Lauri and some were willing to pay him more that cavs did, some less. But it was up to Chicago, who wanted draft pick, so they were negotiating a long time about this. Lauri and his agent felt that eventually they got the best deal with the right team in Cavaliers deal. Big part of that was that Cavs really wanted Lauri and were very active on the trade. He really just wanted a fresh start in a team that lets him play and show the best of him despite anything else. The rumours that Spurs declined a deal after Markkanen wanted too much money were absolutely false. Lauri isn't doing this for the money. He's very humble and even a bit shy guy like we Finns usually are. The final deal is either 67,5mil/4 seasons OR 56mil/3 seasons if Cavs want to change it.

My personal view of Lauri:
After all the years I think Lauri still got A LOT of potential to show in NBA, we all know he's second season February where he played crazy game and I think he still got it. He is great 3-pointer, fast and good dribbler at his size, has a good midrange game and good overall view of the game. Totally capable of those 20-10 numbers you'll want. Only major risk I see is that he's been injury prone, that has been talked a lot and it's a clear downside. He's not the best defender in the paint for sure but to us europeans seems a bit silly sometimes when NBA fans talk about defending. I mean NBA almost has no defending at all during regular season games. Houston rockets games end up 150-140 something even without extra time :D Ok yea sorry but of course I understand Lauri isn't the best 1-1 rim protector defender but he still can defend. He just needs a better team defending system behind him that Bulls had, so I wouldn't be too concerned about that.

I try to write here occasionally if Finnish media brings up something new etc. Cheers!

-Timo
Great insights and welcome, Timo! I too believe that Lauri was incorrectly used in Chicago. He’s flashed some big-time potential, on occasion. A change of scenery may do wonders for him.
 
Guys are give more leash on this team for good or for ill. Let's hope it helps Lauri loosen up and play well.
 
Hello Cavs fans!
Long time Lauri Markkanen fan here from Finland. I wanted to sign in on this forum to tell you some information and perspectives that I have based on finnish media, insider talks & knowledge.
Now Lauri has even said in Finnish (most popular sport) podcast "Urheilucast" that Jim Boylens coaching stuff wanted his role to be mainly a 3-point-shooter, to forget about his midrange game and attacking postgame could almost only come from drives or off. rebounds. Bulls wanted to focus on Zach Lavine from the 2019-2020 season on. He didn't like that but what you gotta understand after all this talk that Lauri wants that and that is that Lauri is a team player. He does what coach tells him. That's how he ended with the situation that he wanted eventually leave Chicago and have a fresh start at somewhere else.

-Timo
Welcome aboard TimoR and glad to see Lauri supporters. I wanted to highlight this in bold because I totally agree that Lauri wasn’t used effectively in Boylen’s year. I want to see more opportunities with Lauri to be free and be able to score. Not just be a stand shooter but get him the opportunity in his post game or have him on the base for fadeaways. He is a good passer too as I like seeing him pass ping off to double teams.

I hope you post more. And thanks for coming.
 

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