Before we proceed to why Lauri Markkanen has a chance to be an NBA star, let’s get the “buts’’ out of the way three games into his professional career.

The rookie had 19 points in the Bulls’ 119-112 loss to the Cavaliers on Tuesday, but there wasn’t a whole lot of defense played that night. He spent the game shooting open jumpers. Not that he has to apologize. LeBron James’ outside shots came with similar thin resistance.

Markkanen had 13 points and 12 rebounds against the Spurs on Saturday, but whatever San Antonio center Pau Gasol was doing was a distant relative of defense, what Velveeta is to real cheese.

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At 7 foot, 230 pounds, Markkanen is well put together, but the 20-year-old needs to add at least 20 pounds of muscle. At this point in his career, he has to rely on athleticism rather than power to get position.

Having said all that:

Wow.

The kid can play. He’s smooth. His footwork is excellent. He has actual moves. He’s the first rookie in NBA history to hit a total of 10 three-pointers in his first three games, which, OK, isn’t exactly Wilt’s 100-point game, but it shows his range. Oh, and he can jump and rebound, too.

You can’t teach 7 foot and athletic. You can unite a tall man and a tall woman in marriage, possibly producing a 7-foot son, but you can’t teach him Markkanen’s touch, ability to move without the ball and gracefulness around the basket.

And, man, he couldn’t have arrived at a better time.

With all the dreariness that is the Bulls as they attempt to hit rock bottom, lose games and get the first overall pick in the 2018 draft, he’s a reason to watch and to hope. And with the Bobby Portis-Nikola Mirotic ugliness still unresolved, Markkanen is a flower growing amid rubble.

If he loses significant playing time when Portis returns from his suspension for punching Mirotic and when Mirotic returns from said punch, somebody ought to be fired. If this season is about developing young talent, Markkanen should be on the floor as much as possible. See Trubisky, Mitch.

There’s reason enough to trade Mirotic or Portis. How two teammates are supposed to practice together, play together, travel together and eat together when one of them has two broken bones in his face is a mystery. Add the likelihood of reduced playing time for one or both of them, thanks to the rapid ascension of Markkanen, and more unhappiness and awkwardness seem to be on the horizon.

But let’s not kill our buzz. There is actually someone to watch now. Critics hammered Bulls vice president John Paxson for getting what they thought was too little in the draft-night trade that sent Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves. And they certainly look correct today. But if Markkanen, who was part of that trade as the seventh overall pick in the draft, turns out to be a great player, Butler will be a fond memory.

It is an “if.’’ It feels premature, even a tad rash, to speak so highly of such a young player so early into his career. Keep in mind, though, that what Markkanen has — length and the ability to shoot the three — are attributes that dominate the nighttime dreams of NBA executives. It’s not what you’d call a healthy fantasy life, but to each his own.

Everywhere Markkanen has been, he has played well. In international play for Finland. In his one year at the University of Arizona. In the NBA Summer League. And now on the biggest stage, though, yes, certainly — it can’t be overstated! — his NBA career is only three games old.

He has a long way to go, but there’s a lot to like about where he’s at right now. His game is understated. He takes what’s there for the taking. He doesn’t try to force matters. But you know he’s there. Opponents do, too. Having realized that there isn’t much to this Bulls team — “much’’ defined as, “like, hardly anything’’ — they’ll start focusing on him. He will have struggles, perhaps lots of them. But he has the physical gifts to rise above.

Bulls TV announcer and bestower of nicknames Stacey King has dubbed Markkanen the King of the North. I don’t know if that’s a nod to the King in the North from “Game of Thrones,’’ but I like it. It evokes a cold, fierce warrior, even if Markkanen seems like a nice, soft-spoken kid from Jyväskylä, Finland.

If that doesn’t work for you, we can go with the Finnish Finisher and be done with it.

It’s only three games, but when the most interesting question heading into the season was how many empty seats there would be at the United Center, it’s enough.

Follow me on Twitter @MorrisseyCST.

Email: rmorrissey@suntimes.com