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The Bulls’ Top Five Attainable Free Agents

By Alex Kirschenbaum

Apr 13, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) dribbles the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 13, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) dribbles the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Here’s a list of five obtainable free agents for the Chicago Bulls to target this week in free agency.

Let me say off the bat that I don’t care entirely about fit.

The way I see things with this current Chicago Bulls roster, the Bulls have four good players under contract next season that are absolutely worth keeping: Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, Cristiano Felicio and Denzel Valentine.

Gibson is on a deal that is going to become incredibly cheap once the insanity that is the start of the NBA’s free agency begins and thus stands as primo trade bait.

He was one of my favorite Bulls of the Rose Era, and I would hate to see him leave, but objectively speaking, the Bulls could get the highest return for him among any of their trade chips.

But I digress.

Point being, I’m not going to focus entirely on need, because the Bulls honestly need pieces all over the floor. I would be more than happy if the Bulls offloaded every other roster player under contract outside of the four I mentioned.

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    • Outlets like the Chicago Sun-Times and CSN Chicago seem to think the Bulls will be shooting for mid-tier free agent options, but why aim for the middle class when you can probably afford at least one member of the … upper-middle class?

    And, with aggressive trades, maybe two?

    Youth should be a priority; unless the Bulls somehow sign Mike Conley and Al Horford, it’s hard to see them legitimately competing in the Eastern Conference.

    So, it makes sense to add some cost effective, roster additions on the right side of 30, who have room to improve and then get ready for next season’s free agent boom.

    Which non-franchise players do I think are totally off the table?

    Pau Gasol (been there), Dwight Howard (not exactly a high-character guy) and Al Horford (he’s too tight with Joakim Noah — more on #13 later). It sadly seems to go without saying that franchise-level guys LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki and even DeMar DeRozan aren’t coming to the Bulls.

    Even though, you know, KD totally could if GarPax got a little creative. I don’t see Chicago paying anybody an outright maximum contract, even though they certainly could with some moves.

    Thus, none of the players we’ll focus on will be guys who are expected to command a full maximum salary.

    As a Bulls fan, I’m personally wary of injury-prone guys, so I’m going to avoid guys like Bradley Beal and Chandler Parsons.

    Next: 5. Harrison Barnes

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