Trade targets:
This is the second part in a series of what I would do if I were in charge of the Bulls. We’ll dive into some potential draft day deals, bad contracts we could potentially take on with draft picks, some buy low targets on other teams, and the guy on the Bulls I’d try to sell high on.
Trades based on the #7 pick:
Normally with where Bulls are in rebuild there is more value in holding on to this pick and swinging for fences. However, with it being hard to find a good fit at 7 there are a couple of guys I’d make phone calls on involving first round picks. The one thing that I’m looking for is youth/and a contract that ends in 2 plus years (More of this later).
This list includes-
Lonzo Ball:
The last time the Lakers dumped a #2 pick point guard after two disappointing years it worked out pretty well for the big market team that got him. Lonzo has a lot of the things I’m looking for in a change of scene prospect. He does everything at least pretty well except shoot, which is the skill most likely to develop over time. After the Lakers’ semi regime change, he may be even more available than he was before. And if the Lakers are as much of dumpster fire as they appear, this would be a great time to buy low.
Count me in Lonzo. He’s a truly great defensive point guard already and the passing skills are elite. He has terrific size for the position and he’s a better athlete than given credit for. The one weakness is huge and very noticeable, but if that jump shot ever comes around I think he could still develop into an all-star. I referenced him earlier, but again look at D’Angelo Russell. It’s hard playing point guard at the NBA level, and the time it takes longer to develop there is longer than any other position. If LA loses patience we should swoop in.
Mikal Evans:
I had him 7 on my board last year in a much stronger draft. Then he went out and had the exact kind of year I expected him to have. The Suns may be down to explore a trade involving him as they too have remade their front office since he was drafted and have a glut of players on the wing.
Robert Covington (maybe):
If the T’Wolves decide to rebuild all the way around Karl Anthony Towns I’d make a play at Covington. Age wise he doesnt make the most sense, but I think he might be best regular season perimeter defender in basketball as well as being a plus 3 point shooter. His contract pays him like like a low end starter/ good backup, but I think he could be the 3rd or 4th best player on a championship team. I would not trade him straight up for the 7 pick, but if the knee checks out I’d try and see how many 2nd round picks it would take to set him free
Memphis’s 1st round draft pick to select Ja Morant:
The Bulls should at least inquire about what it would take to acquire the #2 pick. It’s no big secret that the Bulls have a gaping long term hole at the Point Guard position, and I have no confidence in anyone else being able to fill it from this draft other than Morant. I’ll get into what I think it would take to get him in a post coming soon, but there is some potential here.
Michael Porter and Mohammed Bamba:
These two guys were higher than seven on my draft board last year in much stronger drafts and then had disappointing rookie campaigns filled with injuries and now the #7 pick seems like it might be a little high for both of them. That being said I still see (albeit small) all-star potential in both of them. I think they’d be worth a phone call to gauge if there were any opportunity to buy low.
Guys who might be worth a second round pick or a quick flier on:
Dragan Bender:
While there is probably nothing here, I wouldn’t mind seeing if his poor play was more a function of the abysmal environment he’s been in his entire career. This is still a 7 footer who at times has shown the ability to block shots and shoot 3’s and is young enough that he has time to put it together.
Dznan Musa:
He was one of my sleepers in last years draft. He would up getting picked at 29 by the Nets and barely played. If Brooklyn needed a little cap space or have decided he’s too far buried on their depth chart and were ready to move on I’d throw the lesser of our 2 second round picks in the 2020 draft on him.
Salary Dump targets.
This is a list of a couple of guys other teams might attach draft picks with either to avoid the luxury tax, or create cap room to sign free agents:
Dennis Schroeder, Bismack Biyombo and Evan Turner:
Are Oklahoma City and Portland going to continue to pay the luxury tax in small markets when it looks like they might be behind Utah and Denver, probably behind Houston and almost assuredly behind Golden State with both LA teams potentially adding superstars to already decent cores? I wouldn’t say certainly one way or the other, but the Bulls should jump if either team offers a #1 for either of these guys.
As for Biyombo, if Kemba Walker goes back to Charlotte that would likely put them in the luxury tax. Michael Jordan has never paid the luxury tax. I’d help him avoid it again by taking on Biyombo’s contract if he put enough of sweetener on top of it.
Alan Crabbe and Dion Waiters:
If Dragic and Whiteside opt out of their deals the Heat could get into a point where they’d just have to dump a Waiters or Johnson to be in range for elite free agents.
It’s a similar story with Crabbe. He’d probably come with a first round draft pick if his salary was all that was getting in the way from Brooklyn adding a player like Jimmy Butler.
You can also put Dalino Gallinari in this group. However, he’s on a pretty fair contract. I’ll include him on the off chance the Clips would attach anything of value with him to sign a second max free agent this summer.
The trade I would definitely make,
but the Bulls won’t:
Zach Lavine for anything more than a
second round pick:
Zach had a better year than I expected, but he’s still pretty much just an empty calories scorer. Even with his improved ability getting to the rim and free throw line, most advanced metrics only had him as a 3-5 win player. Guys like that get 10 to 15 million dollars a year not the $19.5 Lavine gets. Now with that being said, he’s still young, has gotten better every year, has tantalizing physical gifts, will be another year removed from a major knee injury, and might be more productive in a role where he’s not asked to do so much offensively. His biggest weakness is off the ball defense, but that might be one of the things that’s most likely to improve with further experience. Add it all up and I’d say there is something like a 30-40% chance he actually winds up being worth his contract, which is double I would’ve said a year ago. Still I think there are enough poorly run teams that get too excited by big scoring numbers from shooting guards that you might get something fun for him. Unfortunately, the Bulls are one of those poorly run teams that are too excited about big scoring numbers from shooting guards.
If it were up to me, I’d trade him to the least data driven team you can find.
A good example being: Lavine and the #7 for Bradley Beal.
Trades I wouldn’t make, but Bulls might:
Mike Conley and Jrue Holiday
Both of these guys are good and would help the Bulls win next year, but chasing the 8 seed at the expense of potential surplus value a couple years down the road is the exact kind of move I want the Bulls to be avoiding. I think even GarPax realizes this, but if they feel like their seats are getting hot enough, a Conley for the #7 pick and Felicao is the desperate, win now trade this duo could make. It’s not that it’s bad value as much as not understanding where we are at on the win curve.
Whether it comes via a trade or free agency I expect the front office to add at least one veteran for the sake of making the team more competitive next year. The team has stated so, and with season ticket sales and viewership plummeting making a team that is at least somewhat interesting will probably be a priority. Making moves to make your team more popular with the fan base isn’t how smart organizations function, but if being more competitive does not come at the expense of cap room for 2021 or getting rid of anymore draft picks it’s at least a defensible move.
I’ll get into free agency more in my next piece.
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