NBC Sports Chicago will preview a different Bulls player every weekday leading up to the start of training camp in late September.
How last year went
Expectations were high for Lauri Markkanen after a stellar rookie season landed him on the NBA’s All-Rookie Team, a star-studded group that also included Ben Simmons, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell and Kyle Kuzma. With a healthy Zach LaVine as a scoring sidekick and Wendell Carter helping him defend inside, the pieces were there for Markkanen to break out as a sophomore.
It didn’t exactly happen. It was a season of bookends for the 21-year-old Finnish forward.