Getty Nikola Vucevic handles the ball during a game between the Chicago Bulls and the Brooklyn Nets.
With Javonte Green’s lingering knee soreness having finally landed him on the operating table, former No. 4 pick Patrick Williams still learning how to be a winning contributor and Nikola Vucevic looking like a square peg at times in the pivot, the Chicago Bulls find themselves somewhat lacking up front.
Alas, determining the best way to address the shortfall — should they deem it necessary — would require making some tough calls about where they are as a franchise. If Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley still think the club is close to competing for a title, they could jettison some assets in exchange for a win-now veteran.
Or, in the event that they’re ready to pack it in (or even blow it up) amid a 19-23 record, uncertainty surrounding a Lonzo Ball return and a slew of expiring and/or near-expiring deals, they could potentially bring in a younger big to grow into a featured role.
But what if Bulls brass could acquire a baller who checked both boxes ? As it happens, Bleacher Report‘s Greg Swartz just floated a trade target who would do exactly that.
B/R: Bulls Could Pursue Former No. 1 Pick Deandre Ayton
Swartz just updated his list of potential targets for every team ahead of the NBA‘s February 9 trade deadline. And Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton caught his eye as a player who could be a significant addition in either circumstance.
“Ayton gives the Bulls the opportunity to go in either direction, as the fifth-year center is averaging 17.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and shooting 59.2 percent this season yet is still just 24 years old,” Swartz wrote.
“If Chicago doesn’t believe in Nikola Vucevic as the team’s franchise center, or doesn’t want to pay him this summer, Ayton could be the answer instead.”
Of course, Ayton wouldn’t be an easy get. After signing a four-year, $133 million deal over the summer, the former No. 1 overall pick is now one of the highest-paid big men in the Association. Not only that — he has a no-trade clause allowing him to block any move for a full year after January 15 (at which point he’s eligible to be dealt).
That said, he may be inclined to sign off on a move making him a cornerstone player in a new situation.
The fact that the Suns declined to offer him a contract extension — which forced him to sign an offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers — clearly stuck in his craw a bit. And despite their decision to match on said deal, the Suns may be willing to move them as they look to have fallen out of the title race.
What Would the Deal Actually Look Like?
From a salary-matching standpoint alone, the Bulls would have to send out a serious compensation package to get Ayton to the Windy City. When one also considers the level that the seven-footer has reached (with room still left to grow), the trade becomes even more costly.
For his part, NBC Sports Chicago’s Rob Schaefer recently floated a Vucevic-DeMar DeRozan for Ayton-Jae Crowder swap, writing:
There is mounting evidence of a rift between Ayton and the Suns, and I believe he is exactly the type of big man (long, athletic, versatile on the defensive end but with a burgeoning offensive game as well at age 24) the Bulls should be targeting to take the long-term mantle from Vucevic. He would be a potential foundational piece moving forward — and for the long term.