The Lakers send veteran guard Avery Bradley to the Chicago Bulls here just to be able to match salaries. The whole salary match thing is a problem when working out a trade with the Lakers, since everyone beyond LBJ and superstar big man Anthony Davis had to really take a pay cut to make this cap sheet work.
There’s a slight opportunity that the Bulls could have in keeping Bradley around, but it could also be a good move to waive him come next offseason. He is owed a little more than $4 million over the course of two years. But next season will be the final year of his current contract.
Traditionally a solid shooter and two-way floor general, Bradley could still salvage some of his stat line this season if he were to have a change of scenery.
The real value that the Bulls are getting in this trade package, outside of Kuzma, comes with the former Iowa State Cyclones rookie shooting guard/wing Talen Horton-Tucker. Most Bulls fans know how much GarPax likes to take on players and coaches from the region of the country where Iowa State is (hence the hiring of former head coach Fred Hoiberg).
Kuzma is still a good fit for the Bulls, and they could fill the wing depth lost by sending out Hutch with the Windy City native THT. The Lakers have veteran wing depth that takes up any playing time and path to progression in real game action that THT could be getting during his rookie season. But he could get a better chance to develop early with the Bulls than he is with the Lakers.