Getty Images Billy Donovan
NBA free agency is almost here as teams can start wheeling and dealing on June 30 at 6 p.m. eastern time. For the Chicago Bulls, the first order of business will be trying to re-sign free agent Zach LaVine.
The Bulls can offer LaVine a max contract of five years at $212 million while other suitors can offer him a four-year deal worth $157 million. The Bulls will attempt to lock LaVine into a deal once free agency gets underway and then the team can turn their attention to addressing other areas of need.
Rim Protection
One of the Bulls’ greatest areas of weakness during this season was defense and rim protection. Because of that, the Bulls have been tied to a number of bigs since the offseason got underway.
The most popular rumor has been that the Bulls will pursue a trade for Jazz center Rudy Gobert. Any trade for Gobert will likely be centered around Nikola Vucevic and include Coby White but the question has been what else the Bulls would have to give up.
Chicago has been unwilling to part with Patrick Williams in trades and it’s unclear what else the Jazz might accept for Gobert. If not including Williams ends up killing a possible trade for Gobert then the Bulls could be forced to look elsewhere for rim protection.
In a new article from Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, he discusses his latest free agency intel and he discusses another big man that the Bulls have shown interest in.
Mo Bamba appears to have interest from the Bulls and Raptors, among other teams in search of rim protection. After Paolo Banchero’s selection at No. 1, there’s also motivation on both sides for Bamba and the Magic to agree to terms on a new deal, sources said.
Bamba is coming off the best season of his four-year career. The seven-footer put up career highs in points, rebounds, blocks, and three-point shooting. In 71 games Bamba averaged 10.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 38.1% from three-point range.
Bamba would definitely be a nice addition for the Bulls but as Fischer notes they’ll have competition for him if they do pursue him. If the Bulls do lose out on Bamba and Gobert they’ll be forced to look elsewhere.
Other Options
Another player the Bulls have shown interest in this offseason is Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson who is expected to garner some interest in free agency. Robinson averaged 8.5 points and 8.6 rebounds while shooting 76.1% from the field this past season.
A few other players the Bulls could potentially pursue if they can’t land Robinson include Andre Drummond, Nic Claxton, JaVale McGee, and Thomas Bryant. The good news for the Bulls is there is a lot of depth at the center position in this free agency class.
Beyond size, the Bulls also badly need to add three-point shooting as they shot just 28.3% from three during their first-round playoff loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. If the Bulls can address their needs for rim protection and three-point shooting then they should take another step forward next season.