A move has to be made at the deadline in San Antonio, and the franchise is much more likely to sell than buy come February 6.
There is a very real possibility that the San Antonio Spurs will miss the playoffs for the first time in 22 years. However the Spurs front office takes this, as a reason to buy or a reason to sell, it is quite evident that a move has to be made. Considering their old-school style of play, aging players, and declining overall performance, the writing is on the wall for the Spurs to commence a rebuild, but they should do so before their stars lose their value.
In moving on from DeMar DeRozan, the Spurs would almost certainly have to take on the contract of Otto Porter Jr., who has a player option worth upwards of $28 million for next season. With Porter very likely to opt into the final year of his deal, San Antonio would find that Porter is a very useful modern NBA wing when healthy. Unfortunately for Chicago, he has been injured for the vast majority of the season and has not been able to showcase the skill he did at the end of last season. Nonetheless, a healthy OPJ would definitely help the Spurs roster with floor spacing and defense.
With the driving factor for trading DeRozan being to acquire more young assets for a rebuild, Chandler Hutchison and Daniel Gafford are very serviceable young players who have thrived in their limited roles in Chicago. Both Hutchison and Gafford without a doubt have a place in the Bulls young core going forward, but when the chance to snag a superstar like DeMar DeRozan comes around, it is hard not to jump on it.
Gafford is perhaps his draft class’ best interior defender and rim runner. His athleticism is elite and his energy level is always extremely high. He may never have an offensive game outside of the paint, but his skills as a defender and post abilities make him a commodity at just 21 years of age. Meanwhile, Chandler Hutchison’s value is clear in that he was a first round selection in 2018. Hutchison has played very good basketball of recent, which shows the Bulls and the rest of the NBA how valuable he may be.
The biggest prize here for San Antonio is the first round pick brought back in the deal. Although it is protected within the top-ten, the Bulls very well could end up picking in the lottery once again. A pick in the high-teens would do wonders for the Spurs if they decided to start from scratch on Thursday.
As for Chicago, receiving DeMar DeRozan would be a game changer. With the team struggling mightily to score this year, adding an elite scorer like DeRozan would perhaps be enough to get the Bulls into a playoff position. The Southern California product has a player option for next season worth just over $27 million, but the Bulls would need to feel confident that he would re-sign in Chicago if they were to acquire him. If he were willing to remain a Bull, this deal could be a huge shift towards contending for Chicago.