Proposed Trade Reimagines Bulls’ Frontcourt With Sharpshooting Big Man

Harrison Barnes Kings-Hawks

Getty Harrison Barnes handles the ball during a bout between the Sacramento Kings and the Atlanta Hawks.

For a team that was sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings at a relatively late point in the 2021-22 season, the Chicago Bulls sure aren’t getting much respect as a title threat in the forthcoming campaign. Some of that is the team’s injury situation — starting floor general Lonzo Ball could be out until 2023 — but other concerns exist as well.

Above all, people aren’t sold on the Bulls’ roster as one that’s built to seriously compete in a conference that’s getting deeper by the year. Things are in such a state, in fact, that The Athletic‘s John Hollinger recently wrote this about the Windy City crew:

“First, is this team all that good right now? Second, can it possibly get any better? And finally, as noted above, are the Bulls just stuck in the middle with a team that’s too good to tank but not nearly good enough to contend?”

Obviously, these aren’t the sort of discussions you want to be involved in if you’re the Bulls. But, barring some kind of move, asking them to take another step forward after breaking the playoff drought last season may be asking too much.

With that in mind, Heavy.com‘s Sean Deveney has an idea about how executive VP Arturas Karnisovas might be able to correct course.


Trade Proposal Nets Harrison Barnes

In an effort to identify under-the-radar trade possibilities from around the Association, Deveney probed a number of league execs for their thoughts on who could be moved. One name that came up — and, arguably, the least under-the-radar of the bunch — was that of Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes.

The 30-year-old Barnes appeared in 77 games for Sacto last season, averaging a cool 16.4 points, 5.6 boards and 2.4 assists per outing. He also connected on 39.4% of his three-point attempts. In other words, he’s exactly the kind of veteran big that would-be contenders want.

To that end, Deveney concocted the following move involving the Bulls:

  • Sacramento Kings receive F Harrison Barnes
  • Chicago Bulls receive G Coby White and G Alex Caruso

“[Barnes is] likely to move on to a winning situation next summer, so it would be sensible for the Kings to shop him,” Deveney opined. And the Bulls make sense for a couple of reasons.


The Bulls Seem Less Than Bullish on White

White may be a former No. 7 overall pick who’s only a year removed from logging a 15-5-4 line, but Chicago hasn’t exactly gone out of their way to make him look or feel like a core piece for the franchise.

Instead, they signed Ball right when it looked like White might become the starting point, and then started a rookie over him when Ball went down. Moreover, there are questions about whether or not the team will offer him a contract extension.

With all of that being the case, now might be the time to get something worthwhile out of White while other teams still believe they can get something out of him. At the same time, there’s a modicum of uncertainty at the power forward spot where Patrick Williams is only 21 and coming off a major injury and DeMar DeRozan got worn down as the fill-in.

By adding Barnes, Chicago would cement its starting five with an above-average four-man with shooting/scoring chops to make the team’s offense even more formidable. Losing Caruso in the deal would hurt, but with Ayo Dosunmu coming along and Goran Dragic there to help hold down the fort, it may be a loss the Bulls can stomach.

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