The Chicago Bulls currently sit at ninth place in the eastern conference and are contending for a playoff spot. Zach LaVine is leading the team as an all-star with young players in Coby White and Lauri Markkanen as key supporting players. They could look to sell at the deadline in hopes of bringing in more young stars for the future or they could look to buy with hopes of making a deep playoff run. They have tough decisions to make as the deadline approaches.
Chicago won’t be looking to move many young assets this year but they still have players who hold trade value. Let’s take a look at three potential trade targets the Bulls could look to acquire prior to the trade deadline.
Buddy Hield
Making a move for Hield would be a move in an attempt to win in the next few years. Hield is in the middle of his prime at the age of 28. The Sacramento Kings are currently rebuilding which makes them open to moving Hield. The Bulls could offer a couple of their young pieces, other than Markkanen and White, and/or picks in order to make a playoff push this season. Hield is an elite shooter who can come off the bench as a sixth-man in order to provide a scoring punch for the Bulls if he is traded.
Lonzo Ball
Trading for Ball would be a move that could boost the Bulls’ short and long-term success. Ball has shown off improved scoring ability this season along with his natural talent as a passer. He could start at point guard over White in order to create a balanced scoring attack or come off of the bench and lead the second unit. Making a trade for him at the right price makes a ton of sense for the Bulls. Ball is still just 23 years old and is in the middle of his best offensive season.
Trading for Ball may be nothing more than a dream at this point. He’s shaken off a slow start to the season and is suddenly gelling well with all-star teammates Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson. Further, the defensive-minded guard is set to hit restricted free agency this offseason.
Victor Oladipo
Oladipo, much like Hield, is a player the Bulls could trade for if they are attempting to win now. The Houston Rockets have not found much success this year, closing the first half of the season on a 13 game losing streak. The Rockets will likely be shopping anyone on their team who has value prior to the trade deadline in order to set a full rebuild into motion.
That makes Oladipo a prime trade target for teams. At 28 years old, Oladipo is an elite two-way guard option for the Bulls. It is likely that Oladipo would have to play a sixth-man role in Chicago as the Bulls currently have LaVine as their starting shooting guard, but the Bulls can experiment with three-guard lineups and move Patrick Williams to the bench in order to make the fit work.
Oladipo is on an expiring contract so the Bulls would be careful what assets they’re willing to move for him. If his market doesn’t develop, they could be among the highest bidders. Otto Porter Jr. and his expiring contract would help facilitate such a deal.
Check out trade targets for the New York Knicks here.
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