Just because Malik Monk, Dennis Smith Jr. or Frank Ntilikina may have been your first choice at No. 7, Bulls fans … doesn’t mean Lauri Markkanen deserves your hatred in his social media mentions.
Markkanen, who was one of the best players in the Pac-12 Conference that included Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball, T.J. Leaf and an Oregon team filled with talent that went to the Final Four, may not have been the pick the Bulls should’ve made on Thursday night. Still, he’s the not the problem here.
The problem with all of this is Gar Forman and John Paxson trading Jimmy Butler, a bonafide star and a top-15 player in the NBA, for a former dunk champion two-guard that was having a good season before tearing his ACL (Zach LaVine), a point guard that the Bulls loved last year in the draft and was bad last season (Kris Dunn) and the ability to trade up nine spots while also giving up their own first round pick.