Lauri Markkanen's Emotional Roller Coaster When He Found Out He Was Traded To Utah Is Pretty Wild

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I love a good behind the scenes story. A look behind the curtain of how the business of professional sports works. And that's exactly what we have here. 

It doesn't matter how many times you hear them, it's always crazy to find out how players learned they were traded. We often think of these guys as nothing more than numbers in a box score or legs in a parlay, but they're humans. These guys have families. These guys have emotions. Well all of them except Kawhi Leonard.

This story from Lauri Markkanen about the emotional roller coaster he rode in under a minute is crazy. From, seeing it on Twitter and thinking "oh hell yeah we got Donovan Mitchell…" to a phone call coming in 20 seconds later that he knew meant "oh never mind, I was traded for Donovan Mitchell." That's a pretty hefty swing in less time than it takes to reheat your pizza from last night.

And that's what most guys at 25 years old are doing. Reheating pizza from the night before, nursing a hangover, and trying to figure out what to do with their life. But 25 year old Lauri had to process a move for him AND HIS FAMILY out of a place he loved and wanted to stay.

This is like hearing your job just landed a huge new contract 20 seconds before you find out you have been demoted to janitor. Or your girl getting a boob job and then she immediately breaks up with you. 

I'm just glad we didn't have to wait until Lauri was old and looked like Goldmember before we heard his side of the trade story.

It's obviously working out for him. He's averaging 25 and 9, just started in his first All-Star game, and is finally living up to the hype of a 7-foot tall, 7th overall pick in the draft. As a Cavs fan there is a part of me that wishes they would have figured out a way to keep him instead of shipping him to Utah since he's exactly what this roster is missing. But Utah saw the potential in him and swung for the fences. 

Pretty awesome that he's going to be a cornerstone guy for them moving forward.

And despite the fact that he looks like a bad guy from a 90's Steven Seagal movie, Lauri comes across as a really nice and genuine dude. I'm glad it worked out for him.

Now let's take a look at the other side of that trade. Where Donovan Mitchell went running and screaming around a golf course when he found out where he was going. 

The rare trade that seems to not only have worked out for both organizations but also the centerpiece player from both teams. A feel good story all around.