Bill Simmons always writes a trade values column on the 50 or 60 most valuable assets in the NBA. So, why not look at the Bulls trade value rankings?
Next: Denzel Valentine and the 2016 NBA Rookie Survey
Before getting started with this list, let’s make this clear: This list is not intended to rank the Bulls’ best players.
Rather, this list is intended to evaluate which player would bring back the most in a trade.
Bill Simmons used a number of rules, but some of those don’t translate well when only evaluating the trade assets of a single team.
Keeping that in mind, here are the rules I’ll be using:
- Salaries matter. Would you rather pay Dwyane Wade $24 million a year or Bobby Portis $1.4 million?
- Age matters. Would you rather have Taj Gibson for the next five years or Nikola Mirotic for the next ten years?
- Contract length matters. This is especially important with the recent salary cap spike. Jimmy Butler’s max contract signed before the drastic salary cap increase is all the more valuable.
Now that we’ve got the rules out of the way, let’s get to the Bulls top-10 most valuable assets.
(All contract information was found via HoopsHype.)
Next: No. 10
10. Rajon Rondo
- Age: 30 (Feb. 22)
- Contract: two years, $28 million
One quick note on Rondo’s contract: While it is a two-year deal, it’s more of a one-year deal with a team option for next year. Only $3 million of his contract is guaranteed for the second year.
Rajon Rondo making this list says more about the Bulls trade assets than it does about Rondo’s value. Cristiano Felicio had a shot at making this list, but only having one year left on his contract really hurt his chances.
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Now, Rondo supporters will quickly bring up his assist numbers and his ability to be a true point guard. By now, it is no secret that Rondo openly hunts for assists on offense, even passing up open shots in hopes of padding his assist numbers.
Rondo’s defense used to be a feather in his cap. Unfortunately, since suffering a torn ACL in Boston, he has not been the same on that end of the floor.
The bottom line is, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where a team with playoff hopes is calling the Bulls about Rajon Rondo. After the debacle with Dallas two seasons ago, Rondo lost the enormous trade value he once had.
Next: No. 9
9. Jerian Grant
- Age: 23 (Oct. 9)
- Contract: one year, $1.6 million; team option 2017-18, 2018-19
The two biggest things Jerian Grant has going for him are his age and his contract. The Bulls still have him under control for three years, which should give them time to figure what he is capable of in the NBA.
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Grant’s rookie year was a struggle for the most part, but it’s important not to put too much stock into his first season. Very few point guards come out and excel from day one.
His stats from his rookie season are fairly poor (5.6 PPG, 39% FG, 2.3 APG, 16.6 MPG). However, Grant did show some signs of life in the last 10 games of the season (9.9 PPG, 45.1 FG%, 2.8 APG, 23.8 MPG). Granted (no pun intended), it is a small sample size, but his numbers in the final 10 games were encouraging.
This guy was taken 19th overall in the draft two years ago for a reason. Sure, his rookie year was far from impressive, but there is still some potential there with Jerian Grant. There’s still reason to believe that Grant can some day turn into a quality rotation player, but he still has a long way to go.
Next: No. 8
8. Dwyane Wade
- Age: 34 (Jan. 17)
- Contract: two years, $48 million; player option 2017-18
By no means is Dwayne Wade the eighth-best player on the Bulls, but both Wade’s age and his contract severely hinder his trade value.
All U Can Heat
Nobody ever though Wade would be leaving Miami. He was always referred to as a “Heat lifer.” Even with Kevin Durant electing to sign with Golden State, Wade leaving Miami still may have been the biggest shock of the offseason.
Dwyane Wade certainly still has some game left as showed in the playoffs a season ago. There were even some flashes of vintage Wade in the postseason. Just ask the Purple Shirt Guy.
His stat line during the regular season was impressive, and even more impressive was his stat line in the postseason. Yet with that being said, Wade’s days as a top-20 caliber player look to be behind him.
He did not play as well as his stats would indicate in the regular season, and his defense has fallen off considerably. But, that does tend to happen when perimeter players are in their mid-thirties.
At this point in his career, Wade might be overpaid, but he deserves it after all of the sacrifices he made in Miami. It’s still mind-boggling that after 13 years with the Heat, he was never the highest-paid player on the roster. Either way, Bulls fans will have the privilege of watching one of the all-time greats play for their team.
Next: No. 7
7. Doug McDermott
- Age: 24 (Jan. 3)
- Contract: one year, $2.5 million; team option 2017-18
After two years of experience, the same concerns that followed Doug McDermott coming into the draft are still there. He can’t play defense, but man, can that guy shoot.
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Last year was certainly a step in the right direction offensively. But when McDermott is the liability he is on defense, he has to be putting up over 20 points per 36 minutes. Dougie McBuckets’s ability to get buckets doesn’t do him much good when the guy he is guarding is getting even more buckets.
It will be interesting to see if Fred Hoiberg increases McDermott’s minutes at power forward this season. According to Nylon Calculus, the Bulls were outscoring their opponents by over 6 points per 48 minutes with McDermott at power forward. That’s a big difference from when he was playing small forward. During those minutes, the Bulls got outscored 4 points per 48 minutes.
While it is nice too see McDermott have success while playing power forward, it was a small sample size. Only 7.4 percent of his minutes were played as a power forward. Of course, McDermott can’t last long stretches in the front court, but it would be interesting to see some expanded minutes for him at the four given his success last year.
It’s too soon to label McDermott as solely a three-point specialist given his ability to score in a variety of ways. Nonetheless, if he doesn’t get his act together on defense, a three-point specialist is what he is going to be.
Next: No. 6
6. Taj Gibson
- Age: 31 (June 24)
- Contract: one year, $9 million
I never liked when a guy was described as “a winning basketball player”, but Taj Gibson is a winning basketball player.
In The Book of Basketball, Bill Simmons talked about “The Secret.” Simmons described an encounter with the great Isiah Thomas who told him the secret of basketball. Thomas said, “The secret of basketball is that it’s not about basketball.”
In short order, what he means is that winning is about team chemistry and being a good teammate. Taj Gibson embodies The Secret. Case in point, he was recently voted Best Teammate for the Bulls by the NBA Players Association.
Gibson has battled through countless injuries and perpetual trade rumors. Not once has he complained. Even as things were falling apart last season, he stood up an vouched for his rookie head coach when nobody else would.
Stacey King always puts it best when describing Gibson as a “hard-hat, lunch pail” guy. He does all of the dirty work and willingly fills whichever role the Bulls need him to fill, because all the guy wants to do is win.
Yet again, Taj Gibson’s name will certainly be thrown around in trade talks this season. And teams should be calling the Bulls about him. If a team traded for him, they can be assured that they’re getting a guy who plays solid defense and can knock down the mid-range jumper. Perhaps most importantly, a team trading for Gibson is getting one of the best teammates in the NBA and a guy who understands The Secret.
Next: No. 5
5. Robin Lopez
- Age: 28 (Apr. 1)
- Contract: three years, $41.4 million
Robin Lopez edges out Gibson due to his age and contact length. Now, when his contract was signed, the jury was out that the Knicks severely overpaid for Lopez. However, due to an unexpected spike in the salary cap, Lopez’s contract doesn’t look all that bad. That is especially the case when looking at the way the center market played out this most recent offseason.
Hoops Habit
Robin Lopez’s trade value also gets extra points for his hilarious feud with NBA mascots.
Best case scenario, Lopez is a solid third big man on a championship-level team. He’s a guy who doesn’t have that “wow factor”, but he is a solid contributor night in and night out.
Lopez is also one of the better rim protectors in the NBA. Per rim protection data from Nylon Calculus, Robin Lopez ranked 11th in points saved per 36 minutes amongst players who played at least 1,000 minutes.
Lopez isn’t going to blow Bulls fans away by any means, but he should provide steady play for Chicago. If things totally go sideways, at least Robin Lopez will be entertaining if nothing else. Watching him bully mascots is sure to be a treat.
Next: No. 4
4. Denzel Valentine
- Age: 22 (Nov. 16)
- Contract: two years, $4.3 million; team option 2018-19, 2019-2020
It’s tough to put a value on a guy who has yet to play a game in the NBA, but just given the fact that Denzel Valentine was a lottery pick, makes him somewhat valuable.
If there’s anything that hurts Valentine, it’s his age. However, it’s not completely time to panic if he doesn’t figure things out in his first couple seasons. There might be this expectation that he will have less of a learning curve since he came out as a senior. Even older rookies may take some time to adjust to the NBA. Both Draymond Green and C.J. McCollum came out as seniors, and year three was when they both saw substantial growth.
Related Story: Denzel Valentine projected to finish 8th in ESPN's ROY standings
Moral of the story: It’s important not to expect less of a learning curve with Valentine just because he’s an older rookie.
Valentine has often been compared to the aforementioned Green. It’s an easy comparison to make: both are Michigan State alums, both came out as seniors, and both were outstanding all-around players in college. Draymond himself even sees similarities between Valentine and himself saying, “He’s the guard version of me.”
Time will tell if that comparison is an apt one. Either way, fans must to exhibit patience with Valentine even if he is two-and-a-half-years older than Bobby Portis.
Next: No. 3
3. Nikola Mirotic
- Age: 25 (Feb. 11)
- Contract: one year, $5.7 million
Going into last season, it was still up in the air as to whether or not Nikola Mirotic could play the three. By the end of his second season, his position enigma became more and more clear as the as Mirotic struggled at small forward.
On the flip side, his three-point field goal percentage climbed over seven percentage points from his rookie year. But as I mentioned last week, Mirotic must prove that his increased field goal percentage from beyond the arc wasn’t merely a product of a hot stretch. If his ability to hit threes is legit, then at worst he is a valuable stretch-four. However, he has the capability to be so much more than a big who shoots threes.
Let’s compare last season to his best month of his career:
| Games | Minutes Per Game | Field Goal % | Three-Point % | Free Throw Attempts/Game | Rebounds Per Game | Points Per Game | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2015 | 15 | 30.9 | 44.1 | 26.3 | 7.3 | 7.6 | 20.8 |
| 2015-16 Season | 66 | 24.9 | 40.7 | 39 | 2.7 | 5.5 | 11.8 |
Let’s also take a look at how Mirotic was scoring during both of those periods:
| % of Points/2PT | % of Points/3PT | % of Points/FT | Field Goal %/AST | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2015 | 46.8 | 24 | 29.2 | 63.3 |
| 2015-16 Season | 29.1 | 52.1 | 18.8 | 83.5 |
Whoa, look at the way Mirotic was getting to the line during the best 15-game stretch of his career. While the improving three-point percentage is an encouraging sign, Mirotic can do a lot more than just catch-and-shoot.
In March of 2015, he was scoring in a variety of ways and attacking the rim. Last season he abandoned that part of his game. Per NBA Savant, Mirotic attempted 71 more shots from the restricted area in his rookie year than he did last season. That stat comes with Mirotic playing nearly an identical amount of minutes both years.
Mirotic certainly has the tools to be a versatile scorer in the NBA, and he can’t forget what made him so dangerous his rookie season. With him becoming more of a threat from downtown that should give him more opportunities to drive as well. Driving lanes could be limited, however, with the lack of shooting on this team.
Next: No. 2
2. Bobby Portis
- Age: 21 (Feb. 10)
- Contract: one year, $1.4 million; team option 2017-18, 2018-19
Bobby Portis may have been the most impressive player in the Las Vegas Summer League. After all, he was in fact the main cog in the SummerBulls’ championship run.
After making it past the #FreeBobbyPortis stage, there was a lot to like in his rookie year. He runs the floor incredibly well for a guy his size, and he showed some promise with that mid-range jumper of his. During summer league this year, Portis showed some signs that he may have even extended his range out beyond the arc. It was only thirteen attempts, but in Vegas he shot 41 percent from three. If that three-point-shot is legit, look out.
More bulls: Bobby Portis: The stretch-four of the future?
Getting a guy like Bobby Portis with the 22nd pick in the 2015 draft is so important for this Bulls team. He might not profile into a star player due to his limited athleticism, but he certainly looks like he can be a starting-caliber player in this league. The value of grabbing a starting power forward near the end of the first round can’t be understated.
With Chicago lacking a bevy of young assets, at only 21 years old, Portis is a great building block to have.
Perhaps the Bulls could reload on young talent if they find a trade partner for their number one trade asset…
Next: No. 1
1. Jimmy Butler
- Age: 26 (Sept. 14)
- Contract: four years, $75.9 million, player option 2019-2020
Out of all of the stars who have been involved in trade rumors, Jimmy Butler may have the highest trade value, save for Russell Westbrook. That includes the likes of DeMarcus Cousins, Paul Millsap and Blake Griffin.
Next: Butler, McDermott work out on the beach together
Now before you get all upset, remember, I’m not saying that Jimmy Butler is better than all of those guys. I am simply saying that his trade value is higher. The advantage he has over those guys is his contract length, salary, and he’s the youngest of that bunch, with the exception of Cousins. Also, he doesn’t rely on his athleticism like Blake Griffin, and he doesn’t have character issues like Cousins.
Jimmy Butler might never be a 1A guy, but he could prove to be one heck of a sidekick on a championship-level team.
The Bulls should be looking to move on from Butler with the current state of the roster. They lack young assets, and their timeline doesn’t match up with Jimmy Butler’s prime. Trading Butler would reward Chicago with an abundance of young assets that could help them greatly accelerate the rebuilding process.
If the Bulls elect to let Butler’s contract play out in hopes of bringing him back as a free agent, it very well could send them into a prolonged period of mediocrity.