With a draft day trade proving wholly possible, the Philadelphia 76ers should be keeping an eye on Lauri Markkanen.
With the NBA Draft closing in and the rumors of a Sacramento Kings trade getting more and more smoke. It’s time for fans of the Philadelphia 76ers to get to know some of the players likely to be available at 10. One of those names is Lauri Markkanen. Markkanen just turned 20 at the end of May and scored 15.6 points per game for a 32-win Arizona team. Let’s review why he is an intriguing prospect.
A Royal Pain
Measureables via DraftExpress
Position: Stretch Four
Height: 7-0
Field Goal: 49.2 percent
3pfg: 42.3 percent
Free Throw: 83 percent
Offensively
Markkanen is the modern NBA stretch Four. At a legit 7-feet, he has unlimited range, a quick release and perfect shooting form. He will undoubtedly be able to get his shot off in the modern NBA and stretch the floor.
For a team like the Sixers he is a nearly ideal compliment to a Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid on the offensive end of the floor. He can run off screens or set screens and space the floor in a way that few other prospects in this draft could hope to do. Think of Ersan Ilyasova with a quicker release and only 20 years old.
Markkanen is better than most stretch fours in his ability to attack close outs by putting the ball on the floor. He has some spin dribble moves that are fairly solid. He will not beat double teams with his ball handling but he will command a defenders full attention.
While his passing instincts are not elite he makes the correct read usually and gets the ball out of his hands quickly. This is not a player who will be ball dominant or slow down a half court offense.
Take a look below for more on Markkanen and his strengths. Again this is an elite shooting prospect not just for a big man, but for any player coming into the draft.
I will say that any comparisons one might want to make to Dirk Nowitzki are unfair to Lauri, he will not be the same type of off the dribble isolation player Dirk is. We are not projecting a 25 point per game scorer here, but rather a solid 15-18 point scorer who spaces the floor on the offensive end and knocks down threes from anywhere.
Markkanen on Defense
I’m going to get this out of the way up top. Lauri Markkanen will not protect the rim in the NBA. That is simply not who he is. I know some will see his listed height and project him as a center in the modern NBA but I think his lack of rim protection potential makes him a four — NOT a five.
Having said that, Lauri is not a stiff on defense. I truly believe his lateral quickness is underrated as well as his defensive instincts. You will have some that dismiss him as a prospect entirely and call him a stiff because of his relative lack of length for his height but he moves his feet quite quickly side to side and can hedge out on screens and be disruptive in pick and roll defense.
Related Story: Sixers' Danger Zone -- Transition Defense
His defensive statistics are poor at just 1 block and .8 steals per 100 possessions, but when you review his play, what you find is he is a positional defender who stays on the floor and keeps his hands up. He is not Robert Covington and will not get his hands on every pass thrown into a lane. Nor is he Richaun Holmes who goes for every block possible.
But neither is he Jahlil Okafor, who simply gets lost in the flow of the game on the defensive end. He sees the plays develop, he steps in and gets in the way and he can slide his feet. This is not a player who will ever win accolades on defense but he will not kill team defense either.
This is borne out by his quite favorable defensive rating of 100.4 which ranks him better than Lonzo Ball, Malik Monk, Dennis Smith Jr. and Markelle Fultz.
Fit with the Philadelphia 76ers
On offense Markkanen fits the offense like a glove. He would not be the level of creator or passer that Saric is, but would stretch the floor in a way that would provide tremendous value to Simmons and Embiid. Saric and Markkanen are probably on the same tier as prospects, but very different stylistically. I do not see Lauri bringing the toughness, grit or intensity of Dario but he will bring other talents that will help the stars of the team succeed. Lauri can be counted on to provide Simmons with 2 assists per game simply by knocking down the open threes that Simmons will create.
Related Story: 2018 rookie of the Year: Ben Simmons
On the defensive side of the ball he is probably a bit closer to Dario. They will both have the same challenges defensively but Lauri has an edge on both lateral quickness and verticality. Neither player will protect the rim or block a ton of shots. Dario again has a toughness and will likely be more stout in traffic around the rim.
Conclusion
I watched Markkanen quite a bit this past year at Arizona and was struck by his NBA ready release and accuracy. He doesn’t just make three pointers, he is pure on them. I am normally sour on plodding big men who spend too much time on the perimeter but Lauri slid his feet well enough for me to become intrigued and I found myself watching more and more UA games because of him.
Heading into the lottery I would have not thought of him as a potential pick for the 76ers solely because I think he was likely to be drafted 6-10 a position we were unlikely to have. Now that a Trade with Sacramento for the 5th and 10th pick is on the table, I have become much more intrigued with his potential fit with the 76ers.
Next: Sixers -- 4 years until the NBA Finals
While in my heart of hearts I would take Jonathan Isaac over Monk at 5 and pray Monk slips to 10, I could be convinced to take Monk at 5 if Markkanan was the consolation prize at 10.