Who’s expendable?
There’s four names to watch for the Chicago Bulls as we move into the 2020 trade deadline. But that number could be dwindling down to three as injuries begin to take hold of this season yet again in the Bulls camp. We’ll see how John Paxson and Gar Forman deal with these various ailments for this trade deadline.
Kris Dunn, Point Guard
This is the name to watch that found himself injured in the Bulls last game. Dunn had an MCL tweak get him against the Raptors in that thoroughly convincing 27-point loss on the road on Super Bowl Sunday.
Most of the trade rumors surrounding Dunn died down since the end of the 2019 offseason. He’s likely to stick with the Bulls through the end of his rookie contract. But he could be a name that still gets shopped around by GarPax on Feb. 6.
Denzel Valentine, Shooting Guard
Almost out of pure necessity, the former Michigan State Spartans shooting guard and Bulls lottery pick Denzel Valentine got more playing time of late. Boylen almost kept it until he ran out of players to utilize off the bench to give Valentine a bigger role.
If the Bulls aren’t going to utilize Valentine in the final year of his rookie contract, they might as well move him.
Thaddeus Young, Power Forward
Will Steve Balmer, Doc Rivers and the Los Angeles Clippers make that decisive move to land Thaddeus Young from the Bulls at the trade deadline this year?
That’s the team that seems the most intent to pull Young away from the Bulls. There is a trade deal that makes sense for both sides, with the Clippers potentially sending small forward Maurice Harkless to get Young from the Bulls..
Chandler Hutchison, Small Forward
This name hasn’t really appeared in any trade rumors with the Bulls, but he seems like one of the more expendable players on the team. The Bulls could also sell high on him while he’s playing well of late.
Similar to Valentine, Boylen wasn’t giving Hutch much playing time off the bench on the wing when the rotation was actually fairly deep. Get some value from him while his stock is higher.