Lauri Markkanen Expected to Miss 6-8 Weeks After Elbow Injury

The Chicago Bulls announced Friday that power forward Lauri Markkanen suffered a high grade lateral sprain to his right elbow and will miss between six and eight weeks. 

On Saturday, Bulls president of basketball operations John Paxson told reporters Markkanen wouldn't need surgery, although he noted the elbow would need to be immobilized for an undetermined amount of time. 

Markkanen made an immediate impact for the Bulls in his first NBA season. The 21-year-old averaged 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and shot 36.2 percent from three-point range.

Chicago acquired Markkanen as part of the trade that sent Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft night in June 2017. At the time, many believed the Timberwolves fleeced the Bulls. However, Markkanen appears to be a genuine building block for Chicago going forward.

The Bulls added to their frontcourt in the 2018 draft, selecting Wendell Carter Jr. with the seventh overall pick. Carter and Markkanen should be a solid combination, with the former providing the defense and the latter delivering the offense, but the Bulls will have to wait to see how well they can truly mesh. 

Bobby Portis stands to pick up additional minutes at power forward as long as Markkanen is sidelined. 

Chicago opens the 2018-19 regular season on the road against the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 18.