Getty Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas of the Chicago Bulls.
The Chicago Bulls have shown they have the bones of a competitive team, though some problem areas still arise from time to time.
They could be ripe for a big trade. Though, unlike coming into the season or even just a few weeks ago when all seemed lost, a trade adding talent to this roster could be a more palpable option than it initially seemed.
On the other side, the Golden State Warriors are sitting 11th in the tough Western Conference. They too could be due for a roster makeover.
Just how drastic of a measure either team is willing to take is unclear still. But trade rumors surround both teams. That leaves open the possibility they come together on a deal that could reverberate across the entire league.
Bulls get:
– Draymond Green
– Andrew Wiggins
Warriors get:
– Zach LaVine
– Jevon Carter
– 2028 first-round pick
This package offers the Warriors a chance to get younger and improve their three-point shooting. The Bulls, meanwhile, could lean into their defensive identity with championship-level players.
Bulls Add Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins in Blockbuster Trade Proposal
Green’s defensive impact is undeniable. The four-time All-Star and champion is an eight-time All-Defensive selection, led the league in steals in 2016-17, and was the Defensive Player of the Year that same season.
But his offense has returned to an extent this season.
Green is averaging 9.7 points – his highest mark since the 2017-18 season – while shooting a career-best 42.9% from beyond the arc and 83.3% at the free throw line.
The 33-year-old is currently serving a suspension for punching Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic on December 12. He is expected to return in the first week of January, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on December 25. That is around the same time the Bulls could get LaVine back from his foot injury, per Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report on December 18.
Most “Clutch” Assists
1. Haliburton: 15 (4 TOV)
2. Coby: 14 (4)
2. Dinwiddie: 14 (2)
4. Dame: 13 (4)
5. Draymond: 12 (3)
6. Van Vleet: 11 (0) 👀
6. Luka: 11 (4)
Most “Clutch” Turnovers
1. Grant: 9 (3 AST)
2. Ingram: 7 (4)
2. Nurkic: 7 (5)
2. LeBron: 7 (6)
2. Zion: 7 (6)
Green is in the first year of a four-year, $100 million contract with a $27.7 million player option in the final season.
Wiggins is in the first year of a four-year, $109 million pact and has a $30.2 million player option.
He has not performed this season as he had over the last three seasons. But a move to the bench over his past six appearances has seemed to help. He is still young enough to be a part of the Bulls’ future and was key to the Warriors’ championship run in 2021-22.
The Bulls could put together several packages for the duo who will cost $209 million combined over the next four seasons.
‘Painful’ Bulls Trade Scenario Could Be Necessary
With LaVine’s trade market non-existent, and potential suitors the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors coming together on a different deal, the Bulls could have to get creative to move the remaining three years and $138 million of LaVine’s five-year, $215 million contract.
LaVine’s contract has a $49 million player option in the final season. Coupled with his spotty injury history, the Bulls could be forced into drastic measures even.
NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson offered up a scenario in which trading LaVine cost Alex Caruso.
Carter — who signed a three-year, $19.5 million contract in free agency to play for his hometown — would be a more palatable option for the Bulls to include.
Johnson’s was just a hypothetical example used to illustrate just how hard of a time the Bulls could have moving LaVine, though the Warriors are a team to watch in any potential trade for Caruso. It does show the kind of dire straights the Bulls could find themselves in with LaVine.
It could behoove them to take the Warriors’ temperature on what would constitute a major foundational shift by moving Green, let alone adding in Wiggins.