Getty Kevin Durant
Do the Chicago Bulls have a realistic chance to land Kevin Durant in a trade? The answer to that question is seemingly no, but that hasn’t stopped multiple media members from speculating on a potential trade that would land the future Hall-of-Famer in a Bulls uniform.
One of the latest overtures came from ESPN’s Max Kellerman. On a recent episode of Keyshawn, Jay, and Max, Kellerman floated the idea of Durant coming to Chicago in a trade that would see the Bulls sending DeMar DeRozan, Patrick Williams, Nikola Vucevic, and multiple first-round draft picks. The deal Kellerman proposed wouldn’t work financially without some tweaks, as Brooklyn cannot take on more than 125% of the salary they send out in a trade because they are already a luxury-tax paying team.
You can watch the segment here:
Jay Williams Wasn’t Feeling Kellerman’s Trade Proposal
Kellerman’s co-host Jay Williams shot the trade down almost immediately. Williams insisted that the Nets wouldn’t want Vucevic, to which Kellerman assured the veteran center would only be there as a player destined to be moved to a contender for more draft assets.
The Bulls and Durant might also balk at the trade concept because it would seem the team and the star would prefer to play with DeRozan rather than have him shipped away to facilitate the deal. A starting five of Lonzo Ball (assuming he’s healthy), Zach LaVine, Alex Caruso, Kevin Durant, and Andre Drummond is solid but may not be a championship contender.
Chicago would need to sign a veteran power forward and perhaps a center to improve their chances. Still, it seems unlikely both teams would love the result of this proposed deal.
This Durant-to-Bulls Deal is a Little More Realistic
Here is a tweak to the Durant-to-the-Bulls concept.
This trade proposal has the tweaks needed to increase the Bulls’ potential offer to the Nets. It also helps solidify the depth Chicago would need to feel remotely secure with their roster.
I don’t see a realistic route for the Bulls to acquire Kevin Durant from the Nets, but this deal makes more sense than most of the ones I’ve seen…and it isn’t great. LOL!
Chicago would send DeRozan, Vucevic, Williams, Dalen Terry, Coby White, the 2023 first-round pick from Portland, and their 2027 first-round selection to the Nets for Durant, Seth Curry, Royce O’Neale, Edmond Sumner, and a second-round pick. This deal couldn’t be completed until August 29 because O’Neale and Terry are recently-signed players.
The Bulls would sacrifice almost all of their immediate future by parting ways with Terry, White, Williams, and the Portland pick. Still, they would be adding a generational talent in Durant, the shooting they need in Curry, more shooting and toughness in O’Neale, filler in Sumner, and a little piece of second-round hope with the Nets’ pick.
Ball, LaVine, Caruso, Durant, and Drummond are a good starting group. Chicago’s bench would consist of Ayo Dosunmu, Curry, Javonte Green, O’Neale, Derrick Jones Jr., Marko Simonovic, Tony Bradley, and Goran Dragic. That’s certainly not horrible.
Brooklyn wouldn’t have to embrace a complete rebuild. They would still have Kyrie Irving (for now), DeRozan, Terry, Williams, White, Joe Harris, Cam Thomas, and whatever they received after trading Vucevic.
Are there teams capable of offering a better deal? Perhaps. Would the Bulls be willing to move this much to get Durant? Probably not.