Minnesota Timberwolves: Pros and Cons of drafting Lauri Markkanen

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Nov 21, 2016; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Lauri Markkanen (10) claps in front of Northern Colorado Bears forward Roberto Vercellino (21) during the second half at McKale Center. Arizona won 71-55. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports /

Con: Defense

There’s a reason The Ringer‘s NBA Draft Guide has Markkanen compared to Anderson and Channing Frye. That’s because the Arizona product struggles mightily on that end of the floor.

Markkanen’s height didn’t result in the defensive production we would normally expect. He only averaged 0.7 blocks per 40 minutes last season. His defensive win shares and defensive box plus/minus were also unimpressive. While he added 4.9 win shares on offense, he was only able to muster 1.8 on defense. As for his box plus/minus, he was plus 7.8 on offense but only plus 1.5 on defense.

These reduced numbers are, in part, due to Markkanen’s lack of strength while battling with fellow bigs down low. He only weighs in at 225 pounds which gives him a lot of room to add muscle. He does have a very good frame and broad shoulders which should allow him to easily pack on the pounds as time goes on.

Although Markkanen’s wingspan is unknown, it doesn’t appear as he possesses great length for a player his size. This contributes greatly to his low block numbers as well.

All of these defensive question marks don’t necessarily fit the narrative that Minnesota is looking to fix their defense this summer. The only hope for Minnesota is that Karl-Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng will be able to cover for Markkanen when he has his expected lapses on defense.