Chris Paul Trade Rumors: Chicago Bulls-Rockets deal possible?

The thought of hauling in a veteran star point guard like Chris Paul could be appealing for Chicago Bulls fans on the surface.

If the Chicago Bulls could get something done involving the Houston Rockets with the latest rumors coming around, would it be beneficial for both sides? The Bulls have a lot of ideas in mind coming from the national and local team media that are worth tooling around with on the trade market ahead of draft night on June 20. Could those talks involve a piece like star point guard Chris Paul?

Moreover, the Bulls do have a handful of good trade chips to work with since we’re less than a month away from draft night. Conversely, the Bulls don’t have much cap room for Gar Forman and John Paxson to work with.

Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Rockets are general manager Daryl Morey are considering all options for dealing players and picks ahead of the 2019 NBA Draft to get over the hump in the Western Conference.

Of those trade chips that the Rockets could make available, the two biggest names would be veteran point guard Chris Paul and starting center Clint Capela. Paul and Capela hitting the trade market could create havoc ahead of draft night.

While Capela shouldn’t be a player that the Bulls attempt to prioritize, Paul could be a different story. But the overarching issue with trying to pursue Chris Paul for the Chicago Bulls would be his massive contract that he’s due well into the future.

Chris Paul is owed a remainder of $160 million from the Rockets over the course of four years. The final year of his contract eclipses well over the $40 million mark too. Paul wouldn’t become an unrestricted free agent until the summer of 2022. That’s a long-term commitment for a Bulls team that can’t afford to do so if anything goes awry.

However, the biggest need for the Bulls to address this summer on the free agent market is the need to add a point guard. If the Bulls do nab a point guard in the 2019 NBA Draft, but dish out Kris Dunn, the need to add another at the position remains.

Another big concern for the Chicago Bulls front office in the potential talks for a Chris Paul deal would be what the return is. Despite Paul’s age and large contract, he would still command a hefty price tag. The Bulls would have to tool around with the idea of shipping out the likes of power forward Lauri Markkanen or center Wendell Carter Jr. at the very least.

If the Rockets are willing to talk to the Bulls about a deal that would send some more expensive pieces back to Houston, this discussion could actually heat up. The problem is that conversation could include a piece like big man Cristiano Felicio.