What do Lauri Markkanen and Josh Giddey have in common? Besides the fact that they’re both foreign-born players who look like shoo-ins for the All-Star team this season? Well, they’re late bloomers. The Utah Jazz have turned Markkanen into one of the league’s best scorers, while Giddey looks like a do-it-all player. To think that if the Bulls had developed Markkanen like they did with Giddey, the Jazz would have gone in a completely different direction.
Chicago had four years to turn Markkanen into something. He always showed that he had the potential to become the player he is today, but he never quite made it happen. Fred Hoiberg, Jim Boylen or Billy Donovan could unlock the Finn, setting the course for him to find himself as a Jazzman two years after his days as a Bull were over.
Look, no one is firing a shot at the Bulls for failing to turn Markkanen into a star. Giddey, who looks like he’s ready for his first All-Star Game appearance, shows that only certain coaching staffs can bring out the best in certain players.
Because that’s how the dominoes fell, the Jazz are seeing Markkans score at a historic pace. He is no longer playing at an All-Star level. What Utah sees from him is playing at an All-NBA level. It never would have happened if the Bulls had discovered him while he was playing there. In fact, the Jazz have a star who has made it very clear he wants to stay with the team.
It all depends on both the right coaching staff and the situation
Before coming to Utah, Markkanen played a solid role for the Cleveland Cavaliers, though they were never as dependent on him as the Jazz are now. Once he was given the keys for essentially being the Jazz’s best players, he took them and ran with them because the team had no better options.
Giddey has a similar story, but not exactly the same as Markkanen. He didn’t set the world on fire when he first became a Bull, but when they traded Zach LaVine they signaled to Giddey that it was his team now, which led to him breaking out at the end of the season and netting him a significant payday.
Sometimes players just need the right people and the right situation to get the best out of them. Markkanen and Giddey are among the NBA’s most notable late bloomers, but they weren’t the first. It’s entirely possible that the Jazz will see more development stories like Markkanen in the coming years.
They’ve already done that with Keyonte George, and there may be more to come. If they do, they can finally reap the benefits of what they did with Markkanen.
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