Where Could Derrick Rose Land if He is Traded?

We’ve seen Justin Holiday and Jimmy Butler play well together in the Bulls backcourt late in the season. GarPax see that, too. Is keeping Derrick Rose something we should expect if Jimmy Butler stays long-term?

Recently, the Bulls fired Jen Swanson, Derrick Rose’s rehab specialist for his knee and may plan to get Jimmy Butler’s own trainer to replace another fired Chicago trainer. Does this mean Rose and his unpredictable health issues are now the least of the Bulls worries? Will the Bulls trading Derrick Rose to anyone for the right offer?

With plenty of teams willing to listen for offers for their lottery spots in the draft, will the Bulls decide to do the unthinkable and trade Derrick Rose? That remains to be seen and I’d rather the Bulls trade Butler than dump Rose at this time because of player value. The Bulls trade a highly-regarded player who is holding back their scorers from developing their A-games, while Derrick can play alongside the Bulls scorers.

The most likely places in my opinion to trade Rose if it happens may either be the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves or Sacramento Kings.

Trading Rose to the Lakers:

If Rose is sent to the Lakers, the Bulls could possibly get a second first round pick, which may become Brandon Ingram or Kris Dunn, plus another player or two. The Lakers get their coveted marquee player with D’Angelo Russell staggered at the point and can offer Rose the moon next year easy. The Bulls can trade down the draft with the 14th pick  if they score the second pick from the Lakers for more picks and grab role-playing defensive athletes.

The Lakers are in a midst of a rebuild, so this is extremely unlikely, but Rose is based in Los Angeles during the summer, so you never know.

Trading Rose to the Suns:

If the Bulls try and swing Rose to Phoenix for their two first round picks (4th and 13th), plus Brandon Knight and/or TJ Warren from them, the fourth pick can net Kris Dunn. The 13th pick may get the Bulls Domantas Sabonis or Timothe Luwawu, while their own pick can be shopped for moving down the draft for more first round picks for role-playing defensive bigs or a backup guard.

Phoenix may look to move around with two lottery picks, but with Knight, Eric Bledsoe and Devin Booker, the Suns would probably be hesitant to come after Rose (even with their top-of-the-line training staff).

Trading Rose to Minnesota:

If the Bulls deal with Tom Thibodeau and Minnesota, they can get an offensive package in: Shabazz Muhammad (weak defender, but instant offense), Tyus Jones and Ricky Rubio, then switch first round picks with Minny too to grab someone like Marquese Chriss.

The Bulls get their Hoiball backcourt in place, plus Scottie Pippen 2.0 (Chriss as a raw, but talented athlete coming into the league like Scottie was as an unknown NAIA player from Central Arkansas).

This is my personal choice if the Bulls were dealing anything with Thibodeau. It’s probably not likely Thibodeau deals with the Bulls, but the connections are there from his time in Chicago.

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Trading Rose to Sacramento:

If the Bulls finally deal with Sacramento, they can get Ben McLemore, Kosta Koufos and likely swap picks with the Kings (No. 8 for No. 14). DeMarcus Cousins gets his one-two punch combo if Rajon Rondo plays elsewhere next season. The Bulls could try and move Kings players (except for Ben McLemore) for more draft picks. The eighth pick could go towards hoping Dunn falls to them, Chriss or another playmaking guard.

If Joakim Noah isn’t staying, Rose might not either. If Noah is wooed back by the Bulls front office, then expect Derrick Rose to be a keeper. Taj Gibson might be actively shopped around for draft picks as well.  Rose doesn’t seem to have value right now on paper as a rent-an-MVP guard for one year, but if he plays healthy next year, he may be worth a pretty penny next summer.

If Jimmy Butler stays and GarPax decide to cut losses with Rose and have the tall shooters on the team take over on offense, it will be a new era for Bulls basketball.

I sincerely hope the Bulls keep Rose just because no one plays like him and he only needs a backup guard and defensive bigs that are not Pau Gasol to have the Bulls among the East’s best again.

Next: Examining if the Bulls traded Derrick Rose or Jimmy Butler

You can also insert Jimmy Butler as the trading chip, plus maybe Taj Gibson or Tony Snell to get the guys GarPax like instead of Derrick Rose if moves are going to be made.