Lauri Markkanen

[Mainstreet]

If the Suns trade down in the draft, Lauri Markkanen may be a target. Talk about shooting, Lauri brings it to to the table and he is a 7 foot mobile big man. There is a lot to like. As Cotton used to say, one can never have enough shooters.

Here are a couple of comments from Draft Express to start the conversation:

One of the top jump shooters in this draft regardless of position, Markkanen made 42% of his 3-point attempts over 5.9 attempts per-40 minutes pace adjusted last season. Among the top shooting players over 6'10 in NCAA history, he shoots the ball with a smooth stroke, great balance, and soft touch. Showing good footwork stepping into shots on the perimeter and setting his feet quickly rising up on the move, Markkanen doesn't have the highest release point, but his size allows him to get shots off comfortably as he was just as efficient this season as a set shooter when lightly contested as when left wide open.

Dropping in dribble jump shots at a comparable 46% clip and making shots coming off of screens to both his left and right at a similar rate, Markkanen is as well-rounded a shooting big men to come out of the college game in some time.

Defensively, Markkanen is a mixed bag. He shows solid agility, good footwork when closing out, and does a nice job positioning himself against smaller players after switching, but his lack of length limits him as a shot blocker, he struggles at times defending more physical big men on the block, and he is just an average rebounder. His upside on this end may not be remarkable, but he certainly has the potential to hold his own at the next level if he can develop as an individual defender inside given his ability to step out and guard on the perimeter, playing angles and leaving appropriate space defending quicker players.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Lauri-Markkanen-73519/

 

[Chris_Sanders]

He is so soft though.

 

[JCSunsfan]

He is a supplementary piece. We need a star.

 

[TJ]

He is so soft though.

He's not soft. Towards the end of the season, especially when his shot went cold, he spent more time posted up, under the rim, and getting rebounds. Lauri became a much more physical player as his game developed. Don't get it twisted. His mark on the NBA will be made in the perimeter. The lazy comparison for Lauri is Dirk, and if he can stretch the floor like Dirk has, he will last a while in the league.

 

[AzStevenCal]

He is so soft though.

I don't see soft at all. In fact, the only thing that worries me is his less than ideal arm length. Other than that I'd have no concerns about him banging down low with typical big men.

 

[Carolinacacti]

Ok I will say it.. If the Suns did not draft Bender, Lauri would be the pick. Token white guy.

I think he will be in the league a long time and be good . Can we trade Bender for him?

He is not soft. UA played him outside.

 

[mojorizen7]

Yuck.

 

[AzStevenCal]

He is a supplementary piece. We need a star.

Star or not, I see close to 20 and 10 for a decade plus. He's a very smart player, great teammate, played 3 positions in college, and can face up and score from pretty much anywhere in the half court. Defense is not his strength but he isn't horrible, he fights for position on both ends, switches well and you'll never fault his effort.

Granted, there are some players that have higher up-sides than Lauri, if everything goes right for them. But IMO, Lauri's floor is much better than any other player in the top 10 and his high end is impressive even if it's not quite the equal of Jackson, Fultz or Fox.

If we work out some of the big names in this draft class and choose one of them over Lauri, I won't be at all disappointed. But I won't be disappointed if we take him at 4 either. There aren't a lot of big men that can score like he does while still doing all the little things that help a team win.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

I see worse Channing Frye.

 

[Russ Smith]

Very good player the one concern is he tapered off was that fatigue or something else.

Terrific shooter, my guess is his tapering off was connected to Trier coming back and UA having to rebalance their offense.

 

[Finito]

Suns have two VERY YOUNG guys at PF no way he's the guy.

He's never gonna be a star if he was that good and 7feet he'd be a lock for the number 1 pick there is a reason he's in the 9-12 range. He's like a big Frank/Channing Frye type

 

[Cheesebeef]

For the love of God... if we take a big white Euro-stiff with our lotto pick for the third time in five years, I will lose my freaking mind. Len, Bender and Lauri?!

 

[Bodha]

Lauri is a shootah!

I like him. Hes like a white Dirk Nowitzki

 

[az jam]

Suns have two VERY YOUNG guys at PF no way he's the guy.

He's never gonna be a star if he was that good and 7feet he'd be a lock for the number 1 pick there is a reason he's in the 9-12 range. He's like a big Frank/Channing Frye type

Totally agree, with Bender and Chris, it would be a wasted pick.

 

[Chaplin]

When he was the best player on Arizona, he was lights out. But when Trier came back, what happened? He completely disappeared. How do you explain that?

 

[sunsfan88]

Suns have two VERY YOUNG guys at PF no way he's the guy.

He's never gonna be a star if he was that good and 7feet he'd be a lock for the number 1 pick there is a reason he's in the 9-12 range. He's like a big Frank/Channing Frye type

I was listening to the BSOTS podcast the other day and they like Lauri and they said he should only be seen as a C, not a PF.

He won't be a rim protector or anything but if Chriss can become an elite shotblocker then that would negate it.

I see Lauri as the taller and C version of Kevin Love. Poor man's Love ofcourse. He just needs to improve his rebounding to that of Love's level.

 

[AzStevenCal]

When he was the best player on Arizona, he was lights out. But when Trier came back, what happened? He completely disappeared. How do you explain that?

He didn't completely disappear although he did struggle for 4 or 5 games. Even then he was still the main cog and the main determinant of UA success. He did defer to Trier, not unexpected given he was a freshman and Trier was considered the returning star, but this team was still much better when he was on the court. You don't "completely disappear" for half the season and still lead the team with a 25.0 PER.

 

[Bodha]

When he was the best player on Arizona, he was lights out. But when Trier came back, what happened? He completely disappeared. How do you explain that?

Chemistry on the floor. Happens all time. Some units just dont mesh well. Its the coaches job to figure out the lineups that best complement each others styles.

Kevin love, an all star player, struggled badly in cleveland his first 2 seasons. Now him and Lebron and Kyrie have it figured out.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I was listening to the BSOTS podcast the other day and they like Lauri and they said he should only be seen as a C, not a PF.

He won't be a rim protector or anything but if Chriss can become an elite shotblocker then that would negate it.

I see Lauri as the taller and C version of Kevin Love. Poor man's Love ofcourse. He just needs to improve his rebounding to that of Love's level.

He is not that good of a rebounder. He was 166th in division 1 in rebounds per game.

 

[AzStevenCal]

He is not that good of a rebounder. He was 166th in division 1 in rebounds per game.

I wouldn't have thought he was that low but regardless, it's very misleading. In fact, I think it's irrelevant when you consider the slow pace of Arizona, the fact he played SF for a good portion of the season, and even when he played the 4 or the 5 he was still usually stationed at the 3 point line offensively. And it's not like he was a bum, just looking at basic numbers, he averaged 7.2 rebounds while playing 31 minutes.

 

[sunsfan88]

I think Booker/Bledsoe would be beyond thrilled to play with a floor spacer like Markkanen.

Bledsoe
Booker
Warren
Chriss
Markkanen

If Chriss can get his 3pt shooting to the mid 30s, this lineup would be amazing spacing wise. If Bledsoe can revert to playing defense again and Booker learns to play some, then we wouldn't suffer much on that end either.

 

[Finito]

I was listening to the BSOTS podcast the other day and they like Lauri and they said he should only be seen as a C, not a PF.

He won't be a rim protector or anything but if Chriss can become an elite shotblocker then that would negate it.

I see Lauri as the taller and C version of Kevin Love. Poor man's Love ofcourse. He just needs to improve his rebounding to that of Love's level.

He's nothing like Kevin Love at all. Kevin Loves post up game in the paint is about as good as anyone. Look up his post up game on YouTube. You can't say oh he's kevin love without the rebounding that's like oh he's Steph without the 3 point shooting.

Love with the at Wolves lived in the paint occasionally shooting the 3.

Two completely different players with different playing styles.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I wouldn't have thought he was that low but regardless, it's very misleading. In fact, I think it's irrelevant when you consider the slow pace of Arizona, the fact he played SF for a good portion of the season, and even when he played the 4 or the 5 he was still usually stationed at the 3 point line offensively. And it's not like he was a bum, just looking at basic numbers, he averaged 7.2 rebounds while playing 31 minutes.

Not irrelevant when you are comparing him to Kevin Love. Rebounders rebound the ball, from whatever position they fill. He is just not a prolific rebounder by any measure.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Not irrelevant when you are comparing him to Kevin Love. Rebounders rebound the ball, from whatever position they fill. He is just not a prolific rebounder by any measure.

Okay, that's fair. He's certainly not ever going to be a Love level rebounder. He'll be roughly average, at best.

 

[Finito]

I was listening to the BSOTS podcast the other day and they like Lauri and they said he should only be seen as a C, not a PF.

He won't be a rim protector or anything but if Chriss can become an elite shotblocker then that would negate it.

I see Lauri as the taller and C version of Kevin Love. Poor man's Love ofcourse. He just needs to improve his rebounding to that of Love's level.

I haven't gotten an update of bright side of the sun since October.

Anyone listen to the Solar Panel? That's my go to Suns podcast