The Chicago Bulls are heading into another season where developing talent will be the primary objective. As a rebuilding roster, Chicago must be both patient and willing to make moves in the trade market.
The more young talent the Bulls can add, the better. However, sometimes adding youth to a roster means being willing to take on a bad contract. With that in mind, Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale has suggested a trade that would send two high-level future prospects to Chicago in return for them taking on a sizeable deal.
Favale’s proposed trade looks like this:
Chicago Bulls get: Kristaps Porzingis, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski, and a 2028 first-round draft pick (top-4 protected).
Golden State Warriors get: Norman Powell and Jalen Smith
Porzingis, 31, signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Golden State Warriors earlier this summer. The second year of the deal is a player option, which he will likely pick up.
There’s no doubting Porzingis’ talent, nor the impact he makes when on the court. However, he’s been dealing with health issues over the past few seasons, meaning he’ll likely miss more games than he plays.
The upside to this deal, from Chicago’s standpoint, is that they’d add Moody, who is currently sidelined with a torn left patellar tendon, and Podziemski, who projects as a solid connector for his entire career.
Favale Explains Why Bulls Would Make The Trade
In his article for Bleacher Report, Favale shared his reasoning as to why the Bulls may be willing to take on Porzingis in order to land both Moody and Podziemski.
“Even if Chicago sees building-block potential in all three of Josh Giddey, Noa Essengue and Dailyn Swain—and there are reasons to question each one—that’s still a pretty shallow young core for a rebuilder,” Favale wrote. “This deal might go a long way toward deepening it.”
Favale continued.
“If the Bulls guessed right on Podziemski as a long-term keeper, they might already have the backcourt component needed to complement their frontcourt. There are, admittedly, loads of defensive concerns with a Giddey-Podziemski guard tandem, but their combined scoring potency and playmaking capabilities could simplify quite a bit for Wilson and Buzelis.”
Considering all, the Bulls would be giving up Powell and Smith; this type of deal is one you could imagine the front office rolling the dice with. There’s very little downside outside of Porzingis’ contract.
Bulls Can’t Trade Norman Powell Yet
If, for whatever reason, both the Bulls and Warriors had interest in this hypothetical trade, they would need to remain patient. Powell isn’t eligible to be traded until December 15.
Still, that wouldn’t be too big of a roadblock for either side. Powell would still have plenty of time to integrate into Steve Kerr’s system, and the Bulls are building for the future.
Chicago has plenty of time to scour the trade market in search of roster upgrades. Whether a deal like the one proposed by Favale becomes available will remain to be seen. If it did, though, the Bulls would be wise to explore the opportunity.
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