Getty Kyle Lowry shoots a layup during a March 14 game against the Chicago Bulls.
Even with the NBA playoffs still underway, non-participating teams like the Chicago Bulls are looking ahead to an offseason with anticipation of player movement.
After falling short of the postseason for the fourth consecutive year, fans are hopeful that playoff basketball will return to the Windy City in 2022.
And for good reason, with Arturas Karnisovas and the Bulls’ new front office having taken an aggressive approach at the trade deadline in pairing All-Stars Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine.
It’s no longer a matter of if Chicago will make an attempt to bring in a third All-Star, but a question of when.
Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz has an idea as to how they can do so.
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Kyle Lowry to Chicago?
In his latest piece for Bleacher Report, NBA Trade Ideas to Create the Next Superteams, Greg Swartz proposed five trades to form the next superteams among the NBA.
Sure enough, he targeted the Chicago Bulls as a destination for one, by way of a sign-and-trade for Kyle Lowry.
The 35-year old will be an unrestricted free agent and seems bound for a divorce with the Toronto Raptors.
In exchange for the six-time All-Star, Swartz suggests the Bulls offer a veteran replacement and draft compensation.
- Chicago receives: Kyle Lowry (via sign-and-trade)
- Toronto receives: Tomas Satoransky, 2025 first-round pick
His justification?
Lowry’s continued performance at age 35 and his championship pedigree:
Lowry has the experience and production (17.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 39.6 percent from three) to completely change the culture in Chicago, taking this from a good roster with potential to one that could be near the top of the East next season.
As well as the price tag which he proposed, which would leave the Bulls core intact:
The Bulls get Lowry for a relatively low rate given Toronto isn’t operating from an area of leverage (take Satoransky and a first or lose Lowry for nothing), and a core of Lowry, LaVine, Patrick Williams, Thaddeus Young, Vucevic and Coby White packs plenty of scoring, playmaking and defense.
Kyle Lowry would present a stark upgrade over the Chicago Bulls’ current point guard rotation, particularly with Coby White having suffered a recent shoulder injury.
But would he have an interest in joining up with LaVine and Vucevic? And would that interest be mutual?
Other PG Options
Kyle Lowry represents just one name among a pool of multiple point guards that could be had this offseason.
NBC Sports’ Rob Schaefer recently listed out a number of options for the Chicago Bulls in his latest work, including all of Dennis Schroder, Devonte Graham, Jalen Brunson, Lonzo Ball, and Spencer Dinwiddie.
Those names highlight the realistic options at least.
Schaefer categorized Lowry under the “Pie-In-The-Sky Veterans” tier:
Lowry, like those above him, would be a sublime addition. An high-level defender and floor organizer with championship pedigree, he’d raise the Bulls’ ceiling considerably. But he’s also up there in age and likely looking for a proven team and lofty contract if he leaves Toronto in unrestricted free agency.
It seems a longshot for sure, but this is the NBA, and stranger things have happened.
That being said, with Arturas Karnisovas heading the Chicago Bulls, don’t discount anything as impossible.
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