The Lauri Markkanen deal changes the exceptional possibilities of Celtics’ trade

A few of Celtics ’potential trade exceptions were on the move on Friday as the Cavaliers, Bulls and Trail Blazers agreed on a three-team deal that Lauri Markkanen highlighted with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Cleveland made a four-year, $ 67 million contract for Markkan, according to Adrian Wojnarowski ESPN.com but he did not have ticket space for direct signing, which led to signing and trading with Chicago. The store was expanded to three teams to increase the number of moving parts involved. Here is a complete breakdown of compensation

Bulls receive: Derrick Jones Jr (POR), 2022 first round selection (top-14 protected from POR), 2023 second round selection (from CLE)

Cavit get: Lauri Markannen (from CHI)

Blazers get: Larry Nance Jr. (from CLE)

Evaluate the deal

The Blazers are in win-now mode, so they gave up most of the rescue capital to Nance Jr., which they believe could help them beat Damian Lillard. Nance Jr. is a big update for Jones Jr., but whether it’s enough to change the playoffs for the Portland West Conference remains to be seen.

The Bulls take back an attractive deal from Jones Jr. for $ 9.7 million, but he’s young enough to spend a nice return year off the bench in Chicago. They are also completing some of their assets by divesting several properties to get Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan into separate signing and trading agreements.

The Cavs take the biggest gamble here to invest a lot of money in Markkanen despite his awkward adjustment to Clevelands ’redesigned front line. Kevin Love is likely to move back into the burning role now that the band is prioritizing their younger songs Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley and Markkanen. Head coach JB Bickerstaff is hard to figure out how this group connects from a defensive perspective, but Markkanen offers some perimeter shots and scoring upside down.

Does it affect Celtics ’TPE capabilities at all?

The most noteworthy area here, from a Celtics perspective, is losing a potential low-cost power striker who would have fit nicely into their TPE for Larry Nance Jr.-Portland. The Blazers want to fight right away, so he no longer seems to be Boston’s target during the season, preventing Blazers from a devastating year and selling Lillard and other assets by the trade deadline. Nance Jr. has signed a contract for another two seasons for a total of $ 20 million. He averaged 9.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game last season, but his defensive versatility should make him a valuable fit in Portland. The Celtics showed commercial interest in Nance Jr. last season.

Other moving parts should not interest Celtics at all. The groups joined Markkasen much earlier in this interim period, but their subsequent transfers made a possible pursuit very unlikely. Another name that could become more readily available in the short term is Kevin Love. The veteran big man is still on contract for two seasons, but he can head to the buyout if the Cavs want to go with the younger players. The guess here is that the Celtics wouldn’t have much interest in 32-year-old love even after the purchase, but he would of course be worth a look for veterans. It is also likely that he would try to play as a top level competitor if these teams are interested in him, if / when he is bought.