2. Deal costs way too much
Markkanen is a key piece of the rebuild for the Chicago Bulls that is about to be entering its third year. Potentially the most valuable piece of this building roster for the Bulls is Markkanen. If it’s not Markkanen, then it’s the former Minnesota Timberwolves athletic shooting guard Zach LaVine.
Dunn likely won’t get the Bulls much of a return on the trade market, but even he should be able to get a return of Chris Paul when a draft pick is thrown into the package. A portion of Bulls fans might even be upset with the idea of sending a young Dunn and a second round pick to the Rockets for Paul.
With the Bulls unloading Markkanen and Dunn, they aren’t getting nearly enough in return with just Paul. The issue here is that Paul costs way too much and the Bulls aren’t giving up any expensive players that aren’t worth the price tag. That’s what the Rockets would be doing in return.
If the Bulls were able to toss in a piece like overpriced forward Cristiano Felicio into the package for the Rockets to send Paul back to the Windy City, this might be worth it. But that idea presents a problem too since no one likely wants to take on the immovable contract that the Bulls have Felicio on in the first place.